Tyronn Lue made sure to call every player, a move the Clippers coach said was necessary to check the “temperature” of the team before its biggest game of the season.
Lue refused to text his players in a group message because he wanted to “hear their voices” and encourage them before playing in a win-or-go-home Game 6 against the Denver Nuggets.
His players responded and delivered in a 111-105 win at the Intuit Dome on Thursday night.
Lue’s two stars are reticent, but James Harden and Kawhi Leonard spoke volumes with their play in forcing a Game 7 in Denver on Saturday night.
Harden had 28 points, eight assists and six rebounds and Leonard finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Norman Powell added 24 points.
The Clippers opened a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter on a Bogdan Bogdanovic three-pointer with 5 minutes 57 seconds left.
But that lead was sliced to 107-101, forcing the Clippers to call a timeout with 2:43 left.
The Clippers didn’t score out of the timeout but got a break when Russell Westbrook missed a fast-break layup, and Powell made a three. The Nuggets weren’t done, though, as Aaron Gordon scored and Christian Braun made two free throws with 58.5 seconds left to cut the lead to 110-105.
It remained precarious for the Clippers after Harden turned the ball over, but Nikola Jokic (25 points, eight assists, seven rebounds) had his layup blocked by Ivica Zubac, and the Clippers got the ball back. Leonard made one of two free throws with 18.8 seconds left, and the Clippers’ defense did the rest.
“Got a great temperature,” Lue said of his players. “Took a lot of temperatures in the last 36 hours. Guys are feeling good. They understand what we got to do. We got to play harder. We got to play with more discipline.”
Lue said he wasn’t going to rely on captains Harden and Leonard to lead the way. Rather, Lue said, he wanted to take charge, to be the leader.
“It comes from me, like, understanding and getting our guys ready to play,” Lue said. “And just talking to every guy last night, just to see how they are feeling, things that we need them to do better, things that they are doing great as well.”
Harden hadn’t played well in the previous two games, both losses. His offense had been subpar and he wasn’t aggressive. But that all changed in the first half, with Harden scoring 21 points in the first 24 minutes. He was seven for 11 from the field and two for four from three-point range.
Lue said he considered making a change to his starting lineup but decided against that move. That was until the start of the second half, when Lue started Nicolas Batum in place of Kris Dunn.
The 6-foot-9 Batum gave the Clippers more size and more consistent outside shooting. And right on cue Batum struck early, drilling a three-pointer to open the third. He had six points, six assists, five rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
The Clippers shot four for 22 from three-point range in the first half but made four of seven in the third quarter as they outscored the Nuggets 32-22 to take an 11-point lead into the fourth.
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