Russell Westbrook Delivers Late Against His Former Team, Nuggets Take 1-0 Series Lead Against Clippers

One win down, just fifteen wins to go until the Denver Nuggets are potentially NBA Finals winners once again.

The Nuggets’ 2025 home playoff opener at Ball Arena didn’t look pretty at times, as the Los Angeles Clippers led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter. The offense looked flat following some solid team scoring in the opening minutes. Denver’s defense gave up 35 points in the first quarter. At a point before halftime, the Nuggets were shooting just a clip over 20% from three-point territory.

And yet, rookie head coach David Adelman and the Denver Nuggets willed their way to a 112-110 overtime victory with mainly a seven-man rotation: with Peyton Watson (14 minutes) and Russell Westbrook (34 minutes) doing the major of the substitutions, and Jalen Pickett appearing for just five of the game’s 53 minutes.

Nikola Jokic played 46 of those minutes, scoring 29 points to go along with 12 assists, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals, in a near-triple double effort. The Nuggets were also +10 with the three-time MVP on the floor.

Aaron Gordon added 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting, and Jamal Murray scored 21 points and made three three-pointers, but the X-factor of the evening in the Nuggets comeback was none other than Russell Westbrook.

Westbrook played 34 minutes off the bench against the team he played on last year, and at first glance, his numbers weren’t particularly wowing: 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, on an inefficient 5-of-17 shooting, including 2-of-6 from three-point range.

But it was the timeliness of Westbrook’s shots, and the willingness from both himself and his team to allow him to keep shooting, that won the Nuggets the game.

Per NBA Researcher Jake Coyne, Westbrook made a go-ahead layup at 3:37, a go-ahead layup at 2:52, and a three-pointer at 0:24 to become the first player since 1997 to hit three shots in the final 4:00 of the game that took his team from trailing to leading (in other words, go-ahead shots where the game wasn’t already tied.)

Russell Westbrook in the 4th quarter:

Made layup at 3:37 (93-92)

Made layup at 2:52 (95-94)

Made three at 0:24 (98-96)

He’s the first player in the PBP era (1997) to have three made shots in the final 4:00 of a playoff 4th quarter that took his team from trailing to leading. pic.twitter.com/IlQt4yohha
— Jake Coyne (@TheStatSquatch) April 19, 2025

If Westbrook misses one of those shots, we’re probably writing think pieces about how the Nuggets might be in over their heads, down 0-1 at home to Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and the Clippers.

But Westbrook and the Nuggets flipped the script in the final minutes and then won the overtime period, squandering the Clippers chances to steal an early series lead.

Westbrook even got the ultimate game-sealing steal late in overtime, getting the ball to Aaron Gordon, who hit both free throws, to put the Nuggets up five in the final minute.

Besides Westbrook’s heroics and Jokic’s usual antics, the Nuggets got back in the game in the second half by playing some good old fashioned defense: after the Clippers scored 35 in the first quarter, they scored just 18, 22, and 23 in the next three quarters. James Harden was red-hot with 15 points in the first quarter, but then went scoreless in the second quarter.

James Harden in the first quarter:

15 PTS
2 AST
2 REB
6/11 FG
2/3 3PTpic.twitter.com/bHD7N0wHop
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) April 19, 2025

Harden ended the night with 32 points on 11-of-22 shooting, and was supported by Kawhi Leonard (22 points on 9-of-15 shooting) and Ivica Zubac (21 points on 10-of-15 shooting). The Clippers bench logged 73 minutes but just 13 points, forcing Los Angeles to rely heavily on their starters on the offensive end.

This overreliance could have played a part in the 20 turnovers the Clippers committed: including seven by Leonard and four by Norman Powell. The Nuggets knew were the ball was going, and their quick hands led to steals, out-of-bounds turnovers, and extra possessions.

The Nuggets escaped Game 1 with a victory in a game that really could have gone either way and was going the Clippers way for the majority of the first three quarters. What will this mean for the rest of the series? Are the Clippers on the verge of stealing a game in Denver, or did they miss their chance to bring a win back to Los Angeles? Are the Nuggets ready to keep making quick in-game adjustments in order to keep every game competitive in these playoffs? Is this the Nuggets final playoff rotation in terms of which players will see the court, or could there be more to come?

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