Head coach Tyronn Lue and the Los Angeles Clippers kept their season alive after beating the Denver Nuggets 111-105 in Game 6, evening their series 3-3 on Thursday. After Lue challenged the Clippers for a different approach with their season on the line, his team responded, forcing a Game 7 in a win-or-go home matchup to advance to the Western Conference semifinals.

After the win, Lue revealed how he reached out to people in preparation for Game 6, per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.

“I had a lot of phone calls,” Lue said. “A lot of phone calls. Just talking to the guys, being positive. Making sure they understood that we didn't play our best [in Game 5] and our attention to detail wasn't good.”

Turning to a small-ball lineup, Lue says it was key to the Clippers finding their momentum in Game 6.

“When we went small with that shooting lineup, we were able to break the game open a little bit,” Lue said. “That gave James [Harden] and Kawhi [Leonard] more spacing, and they were able to attack more.”

With their backs against the wall, Lue thanked his players for their fight to keep their season alive.

“It's about being a team and whatever it takes to win, and those guys totally understood,” Lue said. “Even though they've been great for us all year long. So I just wanted to say thank you to them.”

Kawhi Leonard scored 27 points on 11-of-22 shooting and led four of five Clippers starters in double figures. He also finished with 10 rebounds and five assists. James Harden tallied a team-high 28 points on 10 of 20 attempts, eight assists, six rebounds, two steals, and one block, and Norman Powell netted 24 points.

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Tyronn Lue's defiant take on Clippers changes vs. Nuggets

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue in the third quarter against the Denver Nuggets during game two of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena
Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

After Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue's defiant take before Game 6, his team responded with a slim-margin victory at home. Before one former NBA player issued a challenge to James Harden, Lue's confidence in his team never wavered, but the challenge was there long before tipoff.

Lue didn't hold back in what he expected from his team against the Nuggets ahead of Game 6, per Clippers beat writer Joey Lin.

“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.”

The Nuggets will host the Clippers for Game 7 on Saturday.