An LA Clippers focused breakdown of Nuggets Jazz game one

We take a look at the Nuggets Jazz series with an LA Clippers interest.

If the LA Clippers take care of business in their first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks they will face the winner of the Denver Nuggets vs. Utah Jazz opening-round matchup. Should their head-to-head battle in game one of the series be any indication of what’s to come, whichever team emerges victorious will have just gotten through a hard-fought battle against a quality rival.

The Nuggets and Jazz needed overtime to eventually decide the winner of game one of their Western Conference three vs. six playoff matchup. The Nuggets pulled out a 135-125 victory thanks in part to Jamal Murray scoring ten of his 36 points in the extra frame.

The Jazz was lead by a standout performance from third-year guard Donovan Mitchell, who scored 56 points going 19 of 33 from the floor and 13 of 13 from the free-throw line. He also added seven assists and nine rebounds in just over 43 minutes of action.

Denver’s All-Star center Nikola Jokic finished the game with 29 points and 10 rebounds. The big man had a chance to give the Nuggets the victory at the end of regulation but just missed a hook shot attempt over former Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.

The LA Clippers should be watching both teams closely as they make their way through their own opening-round matchup against the Dallas Mavericks.

The individual performances from Murray and Mitchell stood out to anyone watching game one of the series. The Clippers certainly have the defensive versatility at the guard and wing positions to throw different looks at either of the very capable scorers to make them adjust to what the Clippers want to give them. They won’t have to rely on a single defender tasked with shutting down either of the athletic guards.

If previous matchups are any indication, the series should continue to be tight. Denver swept the season series against Utah 3-0, but the games were decided by a total of 11 points, including a 134-132 double-overtime game in Orlando on August 8.

The Clippers should hope for a long, drawn-out battle between the teams that will hopefully tire out the eventual winner of the series for a potential second-round matchup should LA prevail over the Mavericks. Fans can hope for more entertaining games and memorable star-making performances along the way as well, just because they’re fun to watch.