Three Takeaways From The Clippers Blowout Game 1 Win Over The Nuggets

Two days after a thrilling Game 7 win over the Utah Jazz, the Denver Nuggets had to find a way to refocus and deal with a rested Clippers team finally at full strength, and after hanging around for a quarter, the floodgates eventually opened and L.A. ran away with a blowout win and a 1-0 lead.

The Clippers defense was stifling, and on offense they sliced through the Nuggets defense on unbelievable efficiency on the way to a 120-97 victory. It was quite the performance to assert their dominance to start this series, and now as we look ahead to the rest of the series, here are our takeaways from Thursday’s opener.

1. The Clippers are terrifying

This was just about the perfect game for the Clippers. As always, that starts with Kawhi Leonard, who was 12-of-16 from the field for 29 points in 32 minutes of action. His ability to get to his spot and shoot over any defender without a care in the world is the thing that sets the Clippers apart from most anyone other than the Lakers — who have LeBron who does similar things. Leonard has, like last year, stepped his game up to another level for the postseason and what he does to a defense isn’t just put points on you, but he demoralizes you because even your best effort often isn’t enough.

Beyond Leonard, the rest of the Clippers seem to be rounding into form around him. Paul George had 19 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, still struggling a bit from beyond the arc but looking more like the second star they’ll need him to be moving forward. Marcus Morris continues to be lethal from the outside, hitting 4-of-5 from three-point range and punishing the Nuggets whenever they helped into the paint on Leonard, George, and others.

The bench unit, led by Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, also seems to be getting into rhythm, which is a huge development since that was the group that struggled the most in the Dallas series. On defense, they got off to a bit of a rocky start, but they took away Jamal Murray and took away the paint, making Denver take a lot of tough, contested jump shots and they did not fall. There’s obviously still a long way to go in this series, but this was about as good of a start as the Clippers could’ve hoped for as they seem to be peaking at the right time.

2. The Nuggets might need a miracle

Denver’s defense steadily got better against the Jazz, particularly in Games 6 and 7 with Gary Harris on the court again, but they just had no answers for the Clippers in Game 1 on either end. Jamal Murray looked like someone that had just had to play a near-perfect 7-game series just to get Denver here, and Jokic, after starting hot, likewise was held in check with just 15 points as Denver’s leading scorer.

On the defensive end, Denver’s weaknesses got exposed by this Clippers team. Harris can only do so much and unlike Utah, L.A. has a lot more capable initiators, particularly on the wings. As such, the Nuggets’ wing defense was exposed as was the soft, doughy interior defense that provides them with almost no rim protection. Draymond Green broke that down perfectly on the halftime show, showing how little a factor Jokic is inside.

The path to wins in this series for Denver is likely similar to that of the Jazz series, as they need Jamal Murray to catch fire again, shooting over the top of the stout Clippers defense, and for them to find ways to force more turnovers to steal some extra possessions because getting consistent stops is very difficult for them. We’ve seen it happen, so we know it’s possible, but to do that four times in this series would require a miraculous turnaround. They’ve been blown out once already in these playoffs in Game 3 against Utah and bounced back immediately, but this Clippers team is a different animal and they will need to show something that wasn’t there on Wednesday to stand a chance.

3. The wings I made tonight were great and here’s how you can make them, too

I’ll be honest, there’s not a ton more to say about this game than the Clippers were sensational and the Nuggets looked tired and overmatched. As such, I figure I can leave you with this, my favorite roasted chicken wing recipe for you to make at home (cooking method comes from Alton Brown’s excellent EveryDayCook book).

Step 1: Boil water in a saucepan/stockpot, place steamer basket in pot, place wings in steamer basket, steam the wings for 10 minutes. (This may sound weird, but I assure you it’s very important to the process).

Step 2: Lay paper towels on a baking sheet, place a wire rack on top and pull wings to the rack. Place in the refrigerator, uncovered, for 1 hour. (Again, stick with me here.)

Step 3: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove paper towel from the baking sheet, keep wings on wire rack on the sheet tray, bake for 20-25 minutes.

Step 4: While wings are cooking, melt 1 tbsp butter and add ~half a bottle of Texas Pete hot sauce. Stir to combine.

Step 5: Remove wings from the oven, brush on both sides with the sauce (or toss in the sauce, whichever you prefer), and return to the oven for 20-25 more minutes.

Step 6: Remove wings from the oven (they should be deep golden brown and crispy). Toss or brush with remaining sauce. Serve with carrots, celery, and ranch/blue cheese.