By Johnny Askounis/ [email protected]
The Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Denver Nuggets, 111-105, in Intuit Dome on Thursday.
Peaking at 15 points before a late comeback bid reduced the lead to five points, the team coached by Tyronn Lue did not face an immediate threat en route to a 3-3 tie in a best-of-seven series in the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the 2025 NBA Playoffs presented by Google.
Croatian Ivica Zubac contributed ten points, six rebounds, three blocks, and one steal in a Game 6 win. Off the bench, French Nicolas Batum chipped in six points, six assists, five rebounds, three blocks, and two steals, and Serbian Bogdan Bogdanovic registered six points, three rebounds, and one steal.
“He is guarding guys one through five, so he is a great defensive player,” said Nikola Jokic, commenting on Batum starting the second half and helping his side build a double-digit advantage.
The 30-year-old Serbian center recorded a team-high 25 points behind 11/22 field goals, including 2/4 three-pointers. He also tallied eight assists, seven rebounds, three steals, and one block, lasting nearly 42 minutes. Slovenian Vlatko Cancar and Croatian Dario Saric did not play.
“He was really good. He was making me kind of question my shots. He was always there. He was really good defensively,” said Jokic on facing Zubac.
“Nikola gets fouled a lot. I’m not sure what was happening tonight, but for him to shoot two free throws with the amount of contact that was going on out there was absolutely crazy. They put smalls on him. Those smalls were allowed to do whatever they want, so I’m really excited for Saturday that we’re going to be able to do the same thing with their best players, because if that’s the physicality we’re allowed to play with, we’ll react to it, and we will go there in Game 7,” head coach David Adelman reacted to his leading player being held to two free throws, both in the second quarter.
“Everything he does, is trying to be the most unselfish player he can be. On Saturday, maybe we need a little bit more selfishness from the three-point line,” he added on necessary adjustments for the Joker.
Game 7 will be played in Denver’s Ball Arena on the upcoming edition of NBA Saturdays.
“I’m going to approach it as just another one, because for me every game is important and I want to win every game. So, I am going to to play as a regular game,” noted Jokic, after struggling to recount his Game 7 experience.