LA Clippers Eliminated from NBA Playoffs with 104-89 Loss in Game 7

The LA Clippers fell to the Denver Nuggets in Game 7, blowing a 3-1 lead in the postseason for the second time in the last six seasons.

The LA Clippers were eliminated from the NBA Playoffs on Tuesday night after they suffered another heartbreaking loss at the hands of the Denver Nuggets.

After leading by as many as 12 points in the first half, the Clippers were outscored 50-33 in the second en route to a 104-89 loss in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals.

For the Clippers, it's their second blown 3-1 lead in the playoffs in the last six seasons, though this one stings a bit more than the last given the expectations that this team came into the year with. 

Game 7 followed a similar pattern to what we saw from LA in Games 5 and 6 — the Clippers built up a substantial lead in the first half and played with energy and urgency, moving the ball around on offense and making a point to attack the paint. But once again, LA went away from the easy offense and shifted to an iso-heavy attack in the second half, making things more complicated than they had to be. 

It was also the worst that Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have looked together all season. The two stars combined to score just 24 points on 10-of-38 shooting and collected only 10 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocks. 

Meanwhile, Denver got the most out of its two stars in Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Jokic recorded a triple-double with 16 points, 22 rebounds and 13 assists, while Murray went off for a game-high 40 points.

With the win, the Nuggets became the first team to come back from being down 3-1 twice in a single postseason. 

The Clippers, on the other hand, moved to 0-8 all-time when they have a chance to clinch a conference finals berth, which is the longest streak in NBA history, according to Elias Sports Bureau.