INGLEWOOD, Calif. − The Los Angeles Clippers’ elite defensive play was on display while the team secured its first playoff win at the Intuit Dome on Thursday night.
As a result, the Clippers have taken the Western Conference first-round series lead 2-1 against the Denver Nuggets.
The Clippers finished the regular season with the third-highest defensive rating (109.4), trailing the Oklahoma City Thunder (106.6) and the Orlando Magic (109.1). After three games in the playoffs, the Clippers are third (104.6) behind the Thunder (92.2) and the Houston Rockets (102.2).
The Clippers finished 16th (114.6) at the end of the 2023-24 regular season but the dramatic shift has been credited in part to the addition of assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy during the offseason.
The Clippers’ defense also ranked first in rebounding percentage (73.4) during the regular season, which was a drastic improvement from the 70.5 that had L.A. ranked 24th overall at the conclusion of the 2023-24 regular season.
Head coach Tyronn Lue and the Clippers have spoken highly about the addition of Van Gundy throughout the season.
Lue mentioned that Van Gundy deserves “all the credit” for the defensive performance during the postgame news conference on Thursday that followed the 117-83 victory over the Nuggets.
Van Gundy previously served as a head coach for the New York Knicks (1995-2002) and the Houston Rockets (2003-07) before joining ESPN as an NBA broadcast analyst. He spent 16 years with the sports network, including time as a member of ESPN’s top NBA broadcasting crew along with Mike Breen and Mark Jackson.
“I just have to give credit to my coaching staff, starting with JVG being focused on that end and coming in with a passion and an aggressive mindset for us all,” said Kawhi Leonard, a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year award winner. “It trickles down to us from there. There are guys on the floor who want to guard (the opposing team’s best players) and they aren’t just pointing at me and telling me to take them.”
Leonard draws motivation from watching teammates such as guard Kris Dunn, forward Derrick Jones Jr. and center Ivica Zubac.
“These guys will look the opponent in the eye and say ‘I want them,’ ” Leonard said. “They motivate me defensively … with how they want to play. They just motivate me to want to play. I think that’s where it comes from, you just see other guys digging in deep and wanting to guard and it just trickles down to everybody on the floor.”
Zubac has raised the level of his game this season and has become a focal point of opposing teams’ game plans.
The Clippers made a push for Zubac as a Defensive Player of the Year nominee in the final weeks of the season before Cleveland Cavaliers forward-center Evan Mobley was named the recipient Thursday. Zubac finished sixth in the voting.
Zubac is a finalist for the Most Improved Player of the Year award alongside Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels. Daniels finished second in the DPOY voting.
The Clippers’ big man saw an increase from 11.7 points per game in 68 games played during the 2023-24 season to 16.8 per game in 80 games played this season. He also had an increase in total rebounds from 9.2 to 12.6.
Zubac is typically tasked with guarding Nikola Jokic – the Nuggets’ best player and a finalist for MVP – a challenge from Van Gundy and the Clippers that Zubac has accepted.
“(Jokic’s) basketball IQ is great,” Zubac said. “He can play in the post, he can shoot it, he can play the pick and roll. He can face up. He can do a bunch of stuff. It’s a pick-your-poison with him. You just have to be physical and play hard.”
Jokic, who led the Nuggets to the NBA title in 2023, finished Game 3 with his 36th triple-double this season. He tied a team-high with 23 points to go with 13 rebounds and 13 assists in 37 minutes played.
While Zubac can make the three-time MVP work for his scoring opportunities in isolation situations, the Clippers will provide help with a double-team strategy that will involve someone like Leonard.
Guard Jamal Murray also produced 23 points in Game 3, but he was held to just five points in the first quarter and just two in the fourth quarter after the game was already out of reach.
Despite the win, the Clippers aren’t willing to overlook the Nuggets in Game 4 on Saturday.
“Just take this win tonight and circle back and get as much rest, knowing the job isn’t complete,” Leonard said. “This is a great basketball team that we are playing against with great players, with Jokic being MVP and (Murray) always playing great in the playoffs. … We just have to have that mindset to come in and do it again and stay focused. We are playing a hungry team.”
When is Game 4 between the Clippers and Nuggets?
The Clippers will host the Nuggets for Game 4 of the Western Conference first-round series at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game is scheduled to air on TNT and stream on Fubo.
