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With the Denver Nuggets preparing for Game 7 against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, the team is coming off a disappointing finish in Game 6. While the Nuggets failed in clutch moments, Game 7 will be the deciding game, as star guard Jamal Murray pointed out the flaws from the 111-105 loss.
Murray played 41 minutes in Game 6, where he scored 21 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field and 2-of-6 from beyond the arc, finishing with 21 points to go along with eight rebounds and eight assists.
“I thought we were unorganized,” Murray said after the loss about the Nuggets' effort, according to ESPN. “I think that’s the best way to put it.”
Interim head coach David Adelman spoke on how the Clippers forced them into mistakes and capitalized on points off turnovers and especially in transition.
“We got sped up,” Adelman said via The Athletic. “From that standpoint, it for sure reminded me of Game 3. They got into us defensively and made us turn the ball over. If you don't take care of the ball in this series, you lose. I thought we played relatively well defensively, but we never came up with a 50-50 ball, and that really hurt us.
“That third quarter absolutely killed us. I thought outside of the third quarter, it was a tight game. But going back to Game 7, we have to be better throughout the game. We have to play a full 48 minutes of effective basketball on Saturday.”
Nuggets' Jamal Murray on ‘frustrating' Game 6
As the Nuggets look for an unleashed Nikola Jovic, Murray, and others to advance to the second round of the NBA Playoffs, playing efficiently in Game 7 is going to be key. Denver doesn't want to make many mistakes against a dangerous Los Angeles team that can find a groove at any point.
In other words, the Nuggets cannot have a poor outing like how Game 6 was, which is how Murray described it.
“It was frustrating,” Murray said. “Some of the turnovers were bad, and they hurt us tonight. But I thought they played with a lot more desperation than we did. They came out and played with their backs against the wall. I thought the game came down to a lot of those 50-50 possessions. On Saturday, those are the possessions that we are going to have to take away.”
At any rate, there's no doubt from a fan's perspective that Game 7 will be a highly anticipated contest as it's the only series to go that many outings, making each team desperate for a victory. The same sentiments would be echoed by Jokic after the Game 6 defeat.
“If you like basketball,” Jokic said after finishing with 25 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds in Game 6. “Like a real fan, not a fake fan of basketball, these are the games you should watch.”
Game 7 between the Nuggets and the Clippers will be on Saturday night, with the winner advancing to take on the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the next round of the playoffs.
