Clippers have begun their Conference Semifinals campaign on a winning note, defeating Nuggets 120-97 in Game 1. With lack of defensive skills on the Nuggets’ end, Kawhi Leonard and his teammates ripped through their opponents.

The Nuggets recently went past the neck-to-neck first-round series against Utah Jazz. That was a tough struggle to get through, considering Donovan Mitchell’s force from the other end. But Jamal Murray came out as a star for his team with consistent back-to-back high scoring games.

Nuggets struggle against Clippers in Semifinals Game 1

Well, last night didn’t prove to be an easy task for Nuggets. Clippers’ experienced lineup played with tremendous grit to take away the victory from them. Kawhi Leonard knocked 29 points and Marcus Morris added another 18 to the scorecard.

Kawhi has been in top form this postseason. So much that he has set a new record alongside NBA legend Michael Jordan. He joins Jordan as the only players since the merger to score at least 29 in each of his team’s first seven postseason games.

That is a great deal of achievement in Playoffs history, to be placed with Jordan in any of the statistics. Kawhi’s been consistently scoring a minimum of 32 points in the last bunch of games. Only today the points section dropped to 29, since the game didn’t require his contribution to that extent.

He is averaging a massive 32.3 points per game in the 2020 Playoffs.

Doc Rivers calls Kawhi Leonard very efficient as a player

In the post-match interview, Clippers coach Doc Rivers also had something to say in praise of Kawhi, whom he acquired last summer from the Raptors.

“Just efficient. You know, he puts the work in. There’s very few guys that will outwork him. So he puts it in, so when the game starts, he can withdraw. So he does put a lot of work in, but he’s very efficient. I’ve been very impressed with how he can get it through your offense. He’s been great for us.”

For the Nuggets, Jamal Murray is a huge ‘hope factor’ for the team considering his performance against Jazz. He scored a mere 12 points in this game that added to the dismay of the team.

This season has witnessed several unexpected turnarounds. Nuggets will have to work towards that from the next game against the Clippers.