LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard blocked a dunk at the rim with one finger. It was part of a defensive effort that deserved a big hand for propelling the Los Angeles Clippers down the stretch.
Paul George scored 32 points, Leonard added 23 along with a big late block and the dynamic duo helped the Clippers rally for a 113-107 win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series Monday night.
Leonard did a little bit of everything as he grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out six assists. He also had two blocks, including one late on a dunk attempt by Jamal Murray at the rim. Leonard’s middle finger appeared to get just enough of the ball to keep it out of the basket.
“I didn’t know it was one finger. It was a heck of a play. It was impressive,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “I didn’t even know where he came from. It was a heck of a play.”
Los Angeles takes a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is Wednesday.
With his team trailing 97-90 early in the fourth quarter, Rivers called a timeout to calm down the Clippers. Fueled by defense, Los Angeles went on a 14-4 run to take a 104-101 lead. The Clippers wouldn’t trail again.
“The game came down to one of the two teams was going to play some defense,” Rivers said. “For 3 1/2 quarters both teams were basically scoring. In the last six minutes it was our defense.
“We had our lapses. There’s no doubt about that. But overall, when we locked in we were really good.”
Lou Williams all but sealed the win with a driving layup that extended the lead to six with 2:04 left. George turned in a torrid shooting night. He finished 12 of 18 from the floor, including five 3-pointers.
“He did a great job. He came out there with energy, led us on both ends of the floor,” Leonard said of George. “We just followed his lead.”
Nikola Jokic finished with 32 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for Denver despite a sore right wrist that had him questionable before the game.
“They’re talented,” Jokic said. “They’re favorite on paper and everything, have maybe better starting unit, more players, whatever. Coach, whatever. … Today, we didn’t close well.
“The effort needs to be there to give ourselves a chance to win a game.”
The All-Star center had the pass of the night in the third quarter, when he grabbed a rebound, quickly spun around and sent a perfect, full-court strike to Jerami Grant for a dunk.
Jokic proved to be a handful for the Clippers with JaMychal Green, Ivica Zubac and Montrezl Harrell picking up early fouls trying to cover him. Zubac fouled out with 4:07 remaining.
Asked to describe what makes Jokic so hard to guard, guard Patrick Beverley said he’s almost like Dallas standout Luka Doncic: “A lot of flailing. Puts a lot of pressure on referees to make the right call.”
Jokic shrugged off the assertion (after being told what flailing means).
“They had 26 free throws. We had 10,” Jokic said. “I mean, I’m just showing the ref that it’s a foul.”
TIP-INS
Clippers: F Marcus Morris had 12 points. … The Clippers outscored the Nuggets 30-12 in fast-break points.
Nuggets: Denver outscored the Clippers by a 58-42 margin in points in the paint. … Rookie reserve Michael Porter Jr. finished with 18 points for the Nuggets, while Murray was held to 14 on 5 of 17 shooting. … Grant and Paul Millsap each had 11 points.
UNDERDOG ROLE
Nuggets coach Michael Malone plays up the “Us vs. The World” motivation card. He felt his team was written off against Utah after falling behind 3-1 in the series. He thought many believed the Nuggets would get swept after losing Game 1 in lopsided fashion before rebounding to take Game 2.
“No one gives this team a chance to do a lot of things,” Malone said. “We don’t really care what what anybody thinks about us, especially outside of Colorado. It’s the belief that we have in the locker room. It’s been there since day one.”
For now, Beverley remains on a minutes restriction as he heals from a strained left calf. He played a little more than 12 minutes in Game 1 and 15 minutes in Game 2. He was on the court for more than 20 minutes in Game 3.
“I do think each game, hopefully there will be an uptick,” Rivers said. “It’s better than not having him.”
BOSTON CELTICS 111, TORONTO RAPTORS 89 (BOSTON LEADS 3-2)
The game plan from Boston coach Brad Stevens was simple: Start things off with an increased effort on defense to set an immediate tone.
The Celtics did exactly as he asked — and put the reigning NBA champions on the ropes.
Jaylen Brown scored 27 points and the Celtics never trailed, rolling past the Toronto Raptors 111-89 in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Monday night.
Boston now leads the series 3-2 and can earn a trip to the East finals on Wednesday.
“We were playing with great purpose,” Stevens said. “You could feel that from the get-go.”
Kemba Walker scored 21 for the Celtics, whose starters outscored Toronto’s starters by a whopping 93-45. Jayson Tatum scored 18, Daniel Theis and Brad Wanamaker each had 15 and Marcus Smart added 12 for Boston.
Fred VanVleet scored 18 for Toronto, which trailed by as many as 30. Norman Powell scored 16 for the Raptors, while Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry managed 10 points apiece. Matt Thomas also had 10 for Toronto.
Here’s what Toronto got out of its first 18 possessions: five points on 2-for-15 shooting, a stretch that included everything from missed open layups to airballed contested jumpers, along with five turnovers in the game’s first 8:53.
“I know it sounds crazy .. but I thought our offense was awesome for like the first eight minutes,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “I thought it was awesome. I don’t think those shots could have been more open.”
They were down 18-5 after all that, and it got worse in a hurry.
Another big scoring run — this time, 23-7 — in the second quarter pushed Boston’s lead from 37-25 to 60-32 late in the half. The Raptors had gone 5-for-6 from the field just before that spurt began and seemed to be getting in a rhythm; they missed 11 of their next 13 shots and things got out of hand.
“Tonight our defense really set up our offense,” Walker said. “It worked out for us.”
Toronto outscored Boston 28-25 in the third and it already didn’t matter; the Celtics’ lead was 87-63 going into the fourth.
“We just didn’t play crisp enough,” Lowry said. “We didn’t look at the rim early enough in the shot clock to attack. But it happens. Now we got to watch the film and make adjustments and play for our lives.”
TIP-INS
Celtics: Closeout games are never easy, and Boston is only 17-21 since 2008 when it has a chance to clinch a series. … Boston now has four wins over the Raptors by 15 or more points this season. The rest of the NBA, combined, has one. … The Celtics scored more points in the second quarter (37) than they allowed in the first half (35).
Raptors: Marc Gasol was scoreless and didn’t play in the final 20 minutes. VanVleet was the only Toronto starter to appear in the fourth. … Toronto is 9-10 all-time when facing elimination, as will be the case Wednesday. The Raptors went 1-0 last season in win-or-else games, that being the Game 7 triumph over Philadelphia in the East semifinals.
YO ELEVEN
Boston led 25-11 after the first quarter. It was the 662nd playoff game in Celtics history and only the fourth time they allowed no more than 11 points in a first quarter; they gave up nine once, 10 twice. Toronto’s 11 points tied for the second-lowest scoring quarter — any quarter — in its team playoff history. The Raptors had nine in the first at Detroit on April 21, 2002.
Tatum, a St. Louis native, scrawled “R.I.P Lou Brock” on the sole of his sneakers for Monday’s game. Brock, the Baseball Hall of Famer who helped St. Louis win the World Series twice, died Sunday at the age of 81. Tatum never misses an opportunity to represent his hometown; he often wears Cardinals caps, and even donned a pair of sneakers this season inspired by the 2019 Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues — who just happened to beat the Boston Bruins for that title.
UP NEXT
Game 6 is Wednesday.