INGLEWOOD, Calif. — David Adelman needed to make a point before Game 7.
But he also knows Nikola Jokic might need to help himself more than he did in Game 6 if that point doesn’t get across.
“Nikola gets fouled a lot,” Denver’s interim coach said after a 111-105 loss to the Clippers on Thursday. “I’m not sure what was happening tonight, but for him to shoot two free throws with the amount of contact that was going on out there was absolutely crazy.”
The Nuggets are hosting a winner-take-all game Saturday in part because Jokic’s second half of Game 6 — a 2-for-9 shooting performance in Los Angeles that was stamped by Ivica Zubac’s fortitude against drives and post-ups.
Missed calls in a congested lane also helped, in Adelman’s opinion.
“(The Clippers) put smalls on him. Those smalls were allowed to do whatever they want,” he said. “So I’m really excited for Saturday, that we’re gonna be able to do the same thing with their best players. Because if that’s the physicality we’re allowed to play with, we’ll react to it, and we will go there in Game 7.”
But in Game 6, Jokic’s inability to react might have cost him. He passed up a handful of 3-pointers, often shot-faking and attacking close-outs instead. Zubac was spectacular at remaining glued to him, and the other Clippers weren’t afraid to collapse into the paint against the drive. Jokic kept stampeding into traffic, even after it was clear that he wasn’t getting a whistle.
Zubac finished with three blocks.
“He was making me kind of question my shots,” Jokic said. “He was always there. He was really good defensively. … He was moving his feet really good.”
On one possession early in the third quarter, Jokic pump-faked Zubac at the top of the key and dribbled downhill to his left. Not only did Zubac stay in front — Kawhi Leonard helped off of Christian Braun on the perimeter, and with Aaron Gordon in the dunker spot, James Harden was already positioned in the paint. When Jokic tried to spin to his right, he was ambushed by a triple-team.
With 30 seconds left and Denver down by only five, Jokic opted not to unleash a 3-pointer from the left wing. If he had taken it decisively — and made it, of course — the Nuggets might’ve even had enough time to defend out the next possession without fouling. They had a timeout ready if they could get a stop. Instead, Jokic drove and was thwarted at the rim by Zubac one last time.
The Clippers chased down a loose rebound, and Game 6 was effectively over.
“It’s a good conversation. … I think he felt, driving the close-outs with Zubac, if he gets by him, he’s creating offense for other people,” Adelman said when asked if he thinks Jokic should’ve shot more 3s. “Aaron’s playing behind the defense. It creates corner 3s. Things like that. But probably (want to) have a better mix on Saturday. Let that thing fly a little bit, especially when Zubac is down the floor.
“You know Nikola. Everything he does is trying to be the most unselfish player he can be. Saturday, maybe we need a little more selfishness from the 3-point line.”
Jokic scored 20 points in the first half and five in the second. His 2-for-4 night from deep was consistent with his usual efficiency. Excluding his league-leading 22 long-distance heaves this season, he shot 44% from 3-point range.
But in Game 6 of a series in which he’s been questioned for his occasional unwillingness to be a scorer, his defining fault ironically might’ve been his over-aggressive decision-making.
Whether correctly or erroneously, the refs didn’t reward him for that approach.
“We’ve seen it on his arms all year,” teammate Peyton Watson said. “He plays inside, and he plays a really physical game. So what comes with that is a lot of bumps and bruises. We know he’s in there getting hit. Obviously, it’s hard to see when there’s five bodies surrounding him at all times.”
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