Los Angeles might have been kind to the Denver Nuggets in the past. The Clippers, though, aren’t planning on letting them have smiles on their faces. They established dominance in Game 3 of their first-round series. The Nuggets got bullied on both sides of the floor. Until now, everyone wondered whether the firing of coach Michael Malone signaled a discourse. Now, Nikola Jokic’s outburst might confirm that the fire is yet to be put out.
Three of the Clippers’ starters scored 20+ in their convincing win over Denver. Norman Powell regained his shooting touch, nailing three triples for the night. But one of his transition buckets left the Joker flustered. As soon as he walked over to the bench, the three-time MVP evidently expressed his displeasure to the Nuggets’ coaching staff.
A video caught him having a charged conversation with his coaches. And it wasn’t short-lived. The announcers of the game revealed, “It happened a couple of times throughout the timeout as well”.
At that moment, the Nuggets’ hopes of turning things around on the hope deflated. The Intuit Dome created an intimidating atmosphere for the visiting team. The arena provided a few seats with horse masks in hopes of getting into the Joker’s head. In addition, the chants were endless, rallying the Clippers to continue their onslaught on their rivals.
Nikola Jokic vents on the bench after Norman Powell drains a transition three. Clippers up 21 on Nuggets pic.twitter.com/d3vcinj6gH
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) April 25, 2025
The Nuggets’ mainstay still managed to put in another productive shift. Jokic was efficient in his triple-double performance. But the rest of his team seemed drained by the Intuit Dome’s hostile air. They went down by as much as 22. Their well-engineered offense scored just 83 points, the least they have managed all season.
But playing against a united defensive team like the Clippers, there’s always a chance offenses can falter. That wasn’t the entirety of why the Nuggets lost. Their inability to challenge the Clippers is what sank them in Game 3 and has put them in the backseat in the first round.
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