Can the LA Clippers take a commanding 3-1 lead over the Denver Nuggets?
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00:00 The LA Clippers did not play a perfect game last time out. In fact, it was anything but.
00:04 They ended up winning that contest 113-107, but Denver was in control for the majority of the
00:10 game. The Clippers came on when it mattered most in Game 3, outstripping the Nuggets 29-19 of the
00:16 fourth quarter to take a 2-1 lead in the series. At times, it was a disappointing effort, but the
00:20 Clippers didn't always have that flat on display in Game 3, which is part of the reason why they
00:24 fell behind by as many as 12 points early in that contest. Overall, it was an improvement over the
00:29 effort that was on display in Game 2, especially in the first quarter. Rather than folding to Denver's
00:34 high-powered offense, the Clippers managed to sit with the Nuggets and respond to every punch thrown
00:38 at them in that opening frame. And while we're saying the Clippers are capable of winning games
00:42 that they aren't fully in control of, it would be nice to see the Milliers trying to pressure it up
00:46 and jump on the Nuggets in the tip-off, kind of like what we saw in LA's Game 5 victory of the
00:50 Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. Game 4 is a very important contest,
00:55 and LA cannot afford to go through the motions anymore. Looking at a wish list for Game 4,
01:00 Clippers really want to have 48 minutes of fight time. When this team puts everything together and
01:06 plays hard on both ends of the floor, they're better than any other in the NBA. But unfortunately
01:11 for fans, the team rarely shows type of energy and urgency on a consistent basis. That might be
01:16 necessary for LA to win in Game 4. Denver's landed the first punch and hit hard in each of the last
01:21 two meetings in the series. The Clippers could not recover the first time and took some late-game
01:26 heroics from the second one. Getting a full 48 minutes of fight from this team should not be too
01:31 much to ask, especially since this is an important game for Denver. And of course, a lot of players
01:35 get to look lackadaisical at times, but the team has had too many moments when the ball gets sticky,
01:40 passes are forced, or there's a half-effort on defense that kind of results in an open jumper
01:44 or easy bucket inside of the Nuggets. Limiting those mental mistakes and playing a sharp game
01:49 on both ends of the floor is paramount to the Clippers on Wednesday night. For Denver,
01:54 the key wish list item here is a 50-point game from Jamal Murray. He was arguably the league's
01:59 best postseason performer in the first round of the playoffs, averaging 31.6 points through his
02:04 first seven games and dropping two 50-point performances against the Utah Jazz. It's been
02:10 a different kind of story for Murray in the second round, however. He struggled against LA's really
02:15 stout perimeter group of Patrick Beverly, Paul George, Kauai Leonard, and Marcus Morris, scoring
02:21 just 17.7 points per game on 38% shooting from the field. He's bound to explode at some point,
02:27 and the Clippers know that and are preparing for it to happen, most likely. But if Denver had a
02:32 Tuesday game that it would prefer Murray to go off in, game four would most likely be the decision.
02:37 And the Nuggets don't want to face a 3-1 deficit in back-to-back series. Murray might be the best
02:42 hope of avoiding that. Prediction for tonight's game, like we said, game four is the most important
02:47 meeting of this series so far. A victory for LA puts them up 3-1 in the series and just one win
02:52 away from their first-ever conference finals appearance, while a Denver win would even
02:56 except two games apiece. Now is a time for LA to put the Nuggets away. Even though Denver survived
03:01 the 3-1 deficit in the first round, the Clippers are not the Utah Jazz. LA could probably survive
03:06 losing game four, but for Denver this is a must-win contest. If LA is unable to match Denver's
03:12 energy and urgency throughout, be prepared for this to go the Nuggets way. But if Clippers can
03:16 dictate the pace or can at least keep up, expect this series to go 3-1 by the end of the night.
03:20 For that, it's Clippers winning this one 126-114. Clippers and Nuggets take the floor for game four
03:27 on Wednesday, September 9th at 9 p.m. Eastern Time and this contest will air on ESPN.