Denver Nuggets forward Paul Millsap said his altercation with LA Clippers forward Marcus Morris changed the course of Game 5.
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00:00 The Denver Nuggets didn't earn their first lead in Game 5 until half way through the fourth quarter,
00:04 but according to veteran forward Paul Millsap, the game changed long before then.
00:08 The Clippers were in control for much of the first half right in its contest,
00:12 leading wire to wire and taking a 12-point lead into the break. However, just before both teams
00:16 went to the locker rooms, Millsap and Marcus Morris got an altercation that resulted in Morris
00:20 picking up a technical foul. After the game, Millsap cited the incident as the moment when
00:25 things changed for the Nuggets, saying, "They started running their mouths a little bit.
00:28 It kind of woke us up. I know the word is 'we're soft' and you know, we're not going to let these
00:32 guys come in and just push us around. I think that's what sparked it. We want to prove a point
00:36 that we're not going to be bullied. We're not going to be intimidated." Now, Millsap led the
00:39 charge for Denver in the third quarter, scoring 14 of his 17 points in the frame and trimming
00:44 LA's lead down to seven as both teams approached the fourth quarter. Once that quarter came around,
00:48 we know what happened. Denver took the lead, ended up winning the game by six as the Clippers blew
00:52 a 16-point lead. But looking at this from a Clippers perspective, there is a lot more that
00:57 went wrong in Game 5 than aggravating Millsap, but that was certainly a factor as well.
01:03 LA's rotations at the end of Game 5 weren't great as Montrez, Harrell, and Lou Williams spent a
01:08 little bit too much time on the court and Kawhi Leonard and Ibiza Subot spent too much time off.
01:13 By the time they came back on, there was no stopping Denver's momentum in what they were doing.
01:17 Fortunately, Game 5 was at the end of the series and the Clippers still have two games with the
01:21 Nuggets away. Their margin for error has been reduced for sure, but LA can still afford to
01:26 lose another game. It's not in their best interest, obviously, but it can still happen. I think it's
01:30 the one in this series, but losing another game. Denver cannot. If Denver loses one more game,
01:33 it's series is over, that's it. So LA's margin for error is reduced. It's not what we'd like
01:38 to be right now, but it is better than Denver's, right? So Game 6 between the LA Clippers and
01:43 Denver Nuggets will take place on Sunday, September 13th at 1 p.m. Eastern Time,
01:47 and that game will air on ESPN.