Leonard led Los Angeles with 14 points at the break, while Harden struggled, going just 2-of-6 for seven points. Norman Powell chipped in four, and Ivica Zubac added eight. Braun paced the Nuggets with 11 points, while Gordon and Westbrook each scored 10, and Jokic had nine.

The Denver Nuggets’ second-half lead was way too big for them to fritter away. Denver walloped the Los Angeles Clippers 120-101 in Game 7 of their playoff series Saturday night to advance to face top-seeded Oklahoma City.

On Saturday evening, the Denver Nuggets punched their ticket to the second round of the playoffs with a dominant home win over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 7 of their first round series. While the first six games of this matchup had been highly competitive,