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After last night's Game 5 loss to the Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles Clippers' proverbial back is against the wall. And Clippers coach Tyronn Lue knows it.
In the post-game press conference following the 131-115 loss in Denver, Lue stressed the obvious importance of winning Game 6 but kept what “changes” he would make, if any, a secret.
“We gotta respond. We blew them out in Game 3. They came back and responded in Game 4. We gotta do the same thing,” Lue said, according to Joey Linn. “I don’t know what changes you could make. They made shots… Coming back home, Intuit will be rocking, we’ll be fine.”
Lue also said, in response to a question about whether the Clippers did approach Game 5 with a sense of urgency, that urgency was not an issue and that L.A. had “the right intent.” He instead credited the Nuggets for taking it to the Clippers.
While some Clippers fans could come away from the game and its press conference understandably worried about their team's chances in Game 6, Lue may be downplaying what changes will be made for Thursday's game in an attempt not to give the Nuggets any advantage.
Unfortunately, whatever changes may be coming might not be enough to slow down Jamal Murray when he is at his best. Murray, whose inconsistencies have been a glaring issue for the Nuggets since winning the NBA championship in 2023, played one of his finest games last night.
Murray gave the Clippers' defense fits on Tuesday while scoring a game-high 43 points on 17-of-26 shooting, including 8-of-14 on 3-pointers. Additionally, Aaron Gordon and Russell Westbrook, a former Clipper, also showed up in big ways. Gordon's aggression netted him 9 free-throw attempts, eight of which he made en route to a 23-point outing. Westbrook, coming off of the bench in his return after missing Game 4, made the most of his 25 minutes and scored 21 points and hit three triples.
A source of optimism for Clippers fans is that Game 5 very reasonably could be explained as an off-night for some of the team's best offensive players. Kawhi Leonard, who has been otherwise unstoppable so far this series, was 1-of-4 on 3-pointers and 3-of-7 at the free-throw line, while James Harden and Norman Powell combined for 23 points and 1-of-7 shooting beyond the arc.
The Intuit Dome is expected to be quite raucous for Game 6, the venue's first-ever elimination game, as the Clippers attempt to force a Game 7 back in Denver.
