Can the LA Clippers take a commanding 3-1 lead over the Denver Nuggets?
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00:00The LA Clippers did not play a perfect game last time out. In fact, it was anything but.
00:04They ended up winning that contest 113-107, but Denver wasn't in control for the majority of the
00:10game. The Clippers came on when it mattered most in Game 3, outstripping the Nuggets 29-19 of the
00:16fourth quarter to take a 2-1 lead in the series. At times, it was a disappointing effort, but the
00:20Clippers didn't always have that flat of a display in Game 3, which is part of the reason why they
00:24fell behind by as many as 12 points early in the contest. Overall, it was an improvement over the
00:29effort that was on display in Game 2, especially in the first quarter. Rather than folding to Denver's
00:34high-powered offense, the Clippers managed to sit with the Nuggets and respond to every punch
00:37thrown at them in that opening frame. And while it looks like the Clippers are capable of winning
00:42games that they aren't fully in control of, it would be nice to see the Milliers kind of pressure
00:46it up and jump on the Nuggets in the tip-off, kind of like what we saw in LA's Game 5 victory of the
00:50Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. Game 4 is a very important contest,
00:55and LA cannot afford to go through the motions anymore. Looking at a wish list for Game 4,
01:00Clippers really want to have 48 minutes of fight tonight. When this team puts everything together
01:06and plays hard on both ends of the floor, they're better than any other in the NBA. But unfortunately
01:11for fans, the team rarely shows type of energy and urgency on a consistent basis. That might be
01:16necessary for LA to win in Game 4. Denver's landed the first punch and hit hard in each of the last
01:21two meetings in the series. The Clippers could not recover the first time, and it took some late
01:26game heroics from the second one. Getting a full 48 minutes of fight from this team should not be
01:31too much to ask, especially since it's an important game for Denver. And of course,
01:35not every player is guilty of looking lackadaisical at times, but the team has had too many moments
01:39when the ball gets sticky, passes are forced, or there's a half effort on defense that kind of
01:43results in an open jumper or easy bucket inside of the Nuggets. Limiting those mental mistakes
01:48and playing a sharp game on both ends of the floor is paramount for the Clippers on Wednesday
01:52night. For Denver, the key wish list item here is a 50-point game from Jamal Murray. He was arguably
01:59the league's best postseason performer during the first round of the playoffs, averaging 31.6 points
02:04through his first seven games and dropping two 50-point performances against the Utah Jazz. It's
02:10been a different kind of story for Murray in the second round, however. He struggled against LA's
02:15really stout perimeter group of Patrick Beverly, Paul George, Kyle Weiland, and Marcus Morris,
02:20scoring just 17.7 points per game on 38% shooting from the field. He's bound to explode at some
02:27point, and the Clippers know that and are preparing for it to happen, most likely. But if Denver had
02:32a Tuesday game they don't prefer Murray to go off in, game four would most likely be the decision.
02:37And the Nuggets don't want to face 3-1 deficit in back-to-back series. Murray might be the best
02:42hope of avoiding that. Prediction for the next game, I like they said, game four is the most
02:46important meeting of this series so far. A victory for LA puts them up 3-1 of the series in just one
02:51win away from their first-ever conference finals appearance, while a Denver win would even things up
02:56at two games apiece. Now is a time for LA to put the Nuggets away. Even though Denver survived the
03:013-1 deficit in the first round, the Clippers are not the Utah Jazz. LA could probably survive losing
03:06game four, but for Denver this is a must-win contest. If LA is unable to match Denver's energy
03:12and urgency throughout, be prepared for this to go the Nuggets' way. But if Clippers can dictate the
03:16pace or can at least keep up, expect this series to go 3-1 by the end of the night. For that,
03:21with Clippers winning this one 126-114. Clippers and Nuggets take the floor for game four on
03:27Wednesday, September 9th at 9 p.m. Eastern Time, and this contest will air on ESPN.