Clippers’ rally spoiled at the buzzer as Nuggets win Game 4 to even series

INGLEWOOD — This is what the Clippers wanted, a tight, intense playoff series where neither team is willing to give in.

“This is what we’re about. This is what we work for,” guard Norman Powell said.

But this tight? This intense?

The Clippers forged a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback Saturday afternoon before losing to the Denver Nuggets in heart-breaking fashion.

Trailing the Denver Nuggets by 20 points to begin the fourth, the Clippers erased all of that deficit to take their first lead of the game with 1:11 left only to lose, 101-99, on a buzzer-beating dunk by Aaron Gordon in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series at the Intuit Dome.

Gordon slammed the ball through the rim off a Nikola Jokic airball from 3-point range, and video review confirmed the ball left Gordon’s hands above the rim just before time expired. The Nuggets guard raced off the court, arms raised, confident the shot was good.

What happened on the game-winner?

“It was a nice pass,” Gordon said, jokingly.

Referee Zach Zarba told a pool reporter that “the ruling on the floor from the game officials was a good basket. It then automatically goes to the Replay Center official. The Replay Center official, after taking a good look at it, found clear and conclusive evidence that the ball was out of Gordon’s hands when the red light came on to end the game. That’s why it was ruled a good basket.”

The NBA said it was the first game-winning, buzzer-beating dunk in the playoffs since the detailed play-by-play era began in 1997-98.

“It was really, really close,” Jokic said.

That final shot only fueled the Clippers’ resolve to play better next game.

“We are going to fight. We got guys who like it,” Powell said. “It’s nothing that we haven’t faced or seen before.”

With the win, the Nuggets evened the best-of-seven series at 2-2. Game 5 is scheduled for Tuesday night back in Denver.

“We didn’t lay down,” Clippers star Kawhi Leonard said. “Down 20 in that fourth quarter and to be able to keep fighting and rally back … it’s the NBA. They made a great play.

“It’s still a series, best-of-three. We’ll see what happens.”

The Clippers, who had struggled offensively for much of the game and were outscored by 18 points in the third quarter, began to find the basket in the fourth and started to chip away at the Nuggets’ lead while using a zone defense to slow the visitors.

Powell hit consecutive 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 96-95 with 1:55 remaining before Bogdan Bogdanovic scored on an offensive rebound to give the Clippers their first lead of the game at 97-96 with 71 seconds remaining, capping a 32-9 surge.

Jokic split a pair of free throws with less than a minute left, then Kawhi Leonard missed a 3-point attempt with about 40 seconds left. Jokic responded with a 12-foot jumper to give the Nuggets a 99-97 lead with 16 seconds left. Moments later, Ivica Zubac tipped in a tying basket when James Harden’s jumper hit the rim.

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said the switch to a zone in the fourth quarter caught the Nuggets off guard, which allowed the Clippers to get to the basket. It was the first time all series the Clippers have utilized something other than a man-to-man defense.

“They won a championship a couple years ago, so they’re not going to give in,” Lue said. “We gotta beat ’em and that’s OK. So (we) go to Denver on Tuesday and be ready with not really a new game plan, but a new mindset of what we need to do.”

The Clippers’ energy and that of the sold-out crowd was muted compared to Thursday night’s raucous game and it was reflected in their play. The Clippers came out flat and couldn’t match Denver’s fight early in the second half as the Nuggets pushed their lead to as many as 22 points.

The Clippers seemed to leave all their energy on the court in the first half as they tried to keep the game within reach. A skirmish at the end of the half that resulted in six technical fouls seemed to use up the rest.

With 6.6 seconds left in the first half and the Clippers trailing, 50-48, James Harden was driving the sideline, setting up for a final shot, when Christian Braun fouled him. That led to heated words being exchanged.

Harden then pushed Braun and Jokic ran over and shoved Harden. Gordon came over and pushed Harden then stiff-armed the Clippers point guard, who appeared to hit Gordon’s neck with an open hand.

Powell joined the free-for-all and pushed both Gordon and Braun. Clippers guard Kris Dunn also shoved Braun.

Sensing further trouble, Zubac rushed over and pulled Gordon out of the scrum as the Nuggets coaches stopped it from escalating.

Harden, Dunn and Powell were assessed technical fouls for the Clippers. Gordon, Jokic and Braun were given technical fouls for Denver. Game officials determined that the technical fouls were offsetting since there were no closed-fist punches thrown, therefore no foul shots were awarded, and no one was ejected.

The Nuggets outscored the Clippers 35-19 in the third – with Jokic scoring or assisting on 26 of those Denver points – to open an 85-65 lead, then Leonard, Harden and Powell sparked the Clippers in the fourth, when they outscored Denver 34-16.

Jokic scored the first basket of the fourth quarter to give the Nuggets a game-high 22-point lead, but the Clippers responded with an 18-4 surge and Leonard’s steal and dunk got them within 91-83 with 4:51 left.

Denver led 96-85 on a 3-pointer by Jamal Murray with 3:42 left before the Clippers went on a 12-0 spurt to grab their first lead.

“That’s just a lesson for us. Just stay the course, do what we’re supposed to do, continue to execute,” Lue said. “We’ve been talking about don’t get bored with the process. If they’re going to blitz us and they’re going to do those things, you’ve done your job. Just get off the basketball and make the right play. I thought their aggressiveness kind of took us out of what we’ve been doing. So, they’re a good team, great team.”

The Clippers’ frustration was evident in the first half as their offense got stuck in neutral. They couldn’t match the energy of the Nuggets, who had jumped out to an early nine-point lead. The Clippers managed to close the gap, tying the score at 31-31 on a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer by Nicolas Batum, but never took the lead in the opening half.

The Clippers missed 27 shots (20 of 47) in the first half and watched the Nuggets go to the free-throw line 12 times compared to three trips for them. Chants aimed at the officials were frequent and loud.

Leonard finished with 24 points, nine rebounds and two assists. Powell had 22 points and Zubac had 19 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Harden had 15 points and 11 assists.

Jokic had 36 points, 21 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Nuggets. Michael Porter Jr. and Braun had 17 points apiece and Gordon added 14. Murray had 13 points but shot just 5 for 17 from the field.

Lue wouldn’t reveal any game plans before tip-off, but he did say the Clippers would need to pay attention to details. Minutiae stuff that led them to take a 2-1 series lead. Little things, such as when to focus on Murray coming off the pick-and-roll or how to cover Jokic.

“It’s going to come down to who is going to be the team to eliminate the mistakes or the gift baskets,” Powell said. “It’s doing the little things that tighten up the game. It’s what you get with two top teams that are battling and fighting.”

NOTE

Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook sat out with left foot inflammation.