“He did what he’s been doing,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said. “We tried to be a little more conservative once he crossed half-court in the coverage. But then it was on Christian to get through screens and get back in front of him, to maintain our defense.”
For Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, it was a rough 48th birthday. His team trailed by double digits at halftime and fell behind by 35 points in the fourth quarter.
“Tough loss. Not playing our best game in a situation like this, a lot of emotions,” Lue said. “I told guys to bring it in, one last hug.”
They can take solace in the fact that Kawhi Leonard heads into the offseason as healthy as he’s been in a while. He didn’t make his season debut until Jan. 4 due to issues with his surgically repaired right knee. Harden held things down until Leonard’s return, which Lue applauded.
The Clippers entered the postseason as the league’s hottest team, having won 18 of 21, and Lue was already looking past the disappointment.
“Those two together for a whole season, I think will be tremendous,” Lue said.
Harden, though, turns 36 in August and Leonard turns 34 next month. Is there a level of encouragement the Clippers can continue to build around them?
“I guess we’re still playing at a high level in a sense,” Leonard said. “It’ a hard question to answer right now.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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