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The Los Angeles Clippers are trying to save their season during the NBA Playoffs. To the point Tyronn Lue shook up his starting lineup to start the second half against the Denver Nuggets.
Lue rolled out this roster tweak, captured by Clutch Points' Tomer Azarly. And this change happened with the Clippers facing an 11-point deficit at Ball Arena.
“Nicolas Batum again starts the 3rd quarter for the Clippers,” Azarly said on X.
The 36-year-old French power forward averaged only 17.5 minutes per game this season. He also settled for only four points a game during the regular season. He's also hauled down only 2.8 rebounds per game while playing under 20 minutes a game.
But Lue clearly needed a roster jolt in this critical Saturday game. He turned to the veteran for extended minutes. The move got made with the Clippers down 58-47.
Was new Clippers 2nd half starter effective vs. Nuggets?
Batum played quarterback on the hardwood momentarily. He passed the ball to Kawhi Leonard to start the second half. Leonard proceeded to bury a three-pointer.
However, Denver started to bury the Clippers. Nikola Jokic followed Leonard's basket with a 16-foot step back jump shot to put the lead at 60-50. Christian Braun then followed by hitting his three to make it 63-50. Aaron Gordon further buried L.A. — throwing down a dunk at the 10:27 mark.
Michael Porter and Aaron Gordon continued Denver's scoring onslaught. Both became responsible for the next 10 Nuggets points to extend the lead to 25. Denver took an astonishing 27-point lead over the Clippers — by holding L.A. to 15 third quarter points before the 2:20 mark of that period.
Batum, meanwhile, missed a 22-foot attempt from behind the arc. That became his only shot attempt of the third.
Leonard scored eight of the 15 Clippers points during that disappointing quarter for Los Angeles. Denver carried a 93-66 lead into the fourth of the Game 7 contest.
