Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Denver Nuggets in Game 3 of their first round playoff series on Thursday night. The game also marked the first ever NBA playoff game at the Clippers' all-new Intuit Dome, which owner Steve Ballmer had been looking to for months.

Needless to say, Game 1 at the Clippers' new home did not disappoint.

Kawhi Leonard, James Harden react to first NBA Playoff game at Intuit Dome

Intuit Dome had a sellout in its first ever playoff game, with all 17,927 seats filled and cheering on the Clippers throughout the night.

“The Wall,” a section dedicated to the biggest of Clippers fans, donned baby blue robes in the first half with the Nuggets shooting in their direction. The energy inside Intuit Dome was unlike any that had ever been present for a Clippers home game. Even Game 6 against the Utah Jazz, which had one of the most fiery crowds to date, didn't compare to the roar of Intuit Dome.

“It was great,” Kawhi Leonard said leading the Clippers to a win and a 2-1 series lead. “They did a good job of filling up the seats. They were cheering all night, especially people on the wall, but it was a collective unit out there. It was very loud at times. I didn't know where we was, but it was fun. It was a fun game to play.”

Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman made comments before the series shifted to Los Angeles implying that Intuit Dome was loud because they pumped in sound throughout the game.

“They have the crowd towards our bench, it's like a high school crowd which is actually really cool,” Adelman said at a Nuggets practice. “The other thing is they pump sound in the place. That place is so loud.”

The Nuggets' coach clarified his comments prior to Game 3, giving credit to the Clippers afor their creativity.

“I do think it’s unique that they’re trying this. I think it’s really cool. I know people got out of sorts that I said, ‘pumping noise.' It’s just really loud… I love what they’re doing here. The NBA needs more of that, more creativity.”

At that point, however, the damage had already been done and fans came ready to prove Adelman wrong.

The Clippers trailed by as many as seven points in the first quarter before using a 23-2 run to blow the game open and the roof off of Intuit Dome. LA led by 20 just before halftime and by as many as 34 points, never relinquishing the lead or allowing Denver to get within 17 in the second half.

“It was a good start,” James Harden said. “It was a good Game 1, or Game 1 at Intuit. It was crackin'. It was loud. It was just how we expected it to be. I think that's one of the reasons why we jumped out to a huge lead. They got behind us and we just rode that wave.

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“It was really loud. It was probably the loudest it's been all year. We expected that, but like i said before ,Game 4 needs dto be even louder. Denver is a very, very tough team. They've been through it all. And they're not just going to give in so we've got to make sure that we come ready to go and prepared for Game 4.”

In addition to the blue robes and white rally towels, “The Wall,” also had horse head hats in attempt to troll Nuggets star and horse aficionado Nikola Jokic.

Kawhi Leonard led the way for the Clippers with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. James Harden added 20 points, six rebounds, and nine assists. Ivica Zubac added 19 points and nine rebounds.

The Clippers' bench had been a weak spot throughout the first two games in this series, but Nicolas Batum recorded 12 points, five rebounds, two assists, and three blocked shots while Derrick Jones Jr. added 10 points and two blocks. LA's bench outscored Denver's 31-6 in Game 3 and, as a team, outscored them 13-3 in fast break points.

“It was great,” Ivica Zubac said. “It was great, man. We were looking forward to it ever since the beginning of the season, for the playoffs. We knew they've been consistent throughout the season, very loud. And we knew they were gonna take it to the next level in the playoffs. It meant a lot to us, it was great, and hope for some more next game.”

Norman Powell broke out of his shooting slump in the fourth quarter of Game 2 and continued staying hot in Game 3, adding 20 points and three assists on 7-of-12 shooting. Powell had 12 of his 20 points in the third quarter, helping the Clippers hold off stubborn Denver team.

“It was good,” Norman Powell added. “I was a little worried when we were first running out, but when tipoff came, the whole arena filled and it was packed all the way to the top. The energy was amazing from start to finish. I’m glad that our first playoff game was a win here, but we still have more work to do. We've got to be ready and focused and locked-in for Saturday They're a great team. They're a championship team, so we've got to be ready to play. We haven't done anything yet.”

Saturday evening's Game 4 will be another big contest, as Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and the Clippers will look to take a 3-1 series lead and have a chance to close the series out in Denver in Game 5.