Photos for Headline Surfer / Jamal Murray scores 40 points, Nikola Jokic, shown above scoring on a layup, adds 16 points, 13 assists and 22 rebounds as No. 3 seeded Denver knocks out the No. 2 seeded LA Clippers to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
Posted: 2020-09-16 - 17:15:27
By SERA KING / Headline Surfer
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- And then there were four.
Four teams, that is, vying for the NBA championship in the NBA Bubble at Disney.
The Los Angeles Clippers among the favorites for the title were up 3 games to 1 in the best 4 out of 7 games before the lower-seeded Denver Nuggets came roaring back to win three straight and bounce the Clippers from the playoffs with a 104-89 game 7 win on Tuesday.
So much for the much-hyped LA finals showdown between the Clippers ands Lakers.
Nikola Jokic put up a triple-double with 16 points, 13 assists, and 22 rebounds as the Nuggets won Game 7 over the Clippers. Jamal Murray led Denver with 40 points.
The Clippers' two superstars were just plain awful when they were most counted on to take the Clippers to the NBA Finals. In fact, just a week ago, they were the favorites to win it all.
Kawhi Leonard, the NBA Finals MVP in Toronto Raptors' championship last season, was dreadful for the Clippers, going just 6-22 from the field for 14 points and with zero scoring in the fourth quarter of Game 7's season-ending loss.
The Clippers' Paul George fared even worse on 4-of-16 shooting, including 2 of 11 from three, for 10 points.
Kawhi Leonard, the NBA Finals MVP in Toronto Raptors' championship last season, was dreadful for the Clippers, going just 6-22 from the field for 14 points and with zero scoring in the fourth quarter of Game 7's season-ending loss.
The Clippers' Paul George fared even worse on 4-of-16 shooting, including 2 of 11 from three, for 10 points.
Denver now faces the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals in a best 4 out of 7 series.
In the Eastern Conference Finals, the No. 5 seeded Miami Heat outlasted the third-seeded Boston Celtics in their opener to go up 1-0 in the best 4 out of 7 series.
Goran Dragic scored 29 points and had 7 rebounds as Miami won, 117-114 in overtime.
The Heat play the Celtics 7 p.m. Thursday on ESPN. And the Nuggets play the Lakers 9 p.m. Friday on TNT.
About the Byline Writer:
Sera King is associate publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet serving greater Daytona Beach, Sanford, and Orlando, FL via HeadlineSurfer.com since 2008. King also is a byline writer, videographer and cartoonist for the media outlet. King received her bachelor's degree in Business Administration (3.84 gpa) from Ana G. Mendez University in Orlando in 2008.
Headline Surfer LLC is published by Henry Frederick, Central Florida's award-winning journalist.
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