Nuggets-Clippers Game 1 3-pointers: Russell Westbrook rewards David Adelman’s trust down stretch

In a rockfight that became a barnburner the Nuggets took Championship of their first-round playoff series against the Clippers on Saturday in a - overtime thriller behind balanced scoring and a few heroics from Russell Westbrook Let s break it down The Nuggets let Russ be Russ and it paid off With eight minutes left in Saturday s back-and-forth thriller interim head coach David Adelman sent a scuffling Michael Porter Jr to the bench in favor of Christian Braun and left much-maligned veteran guard Russell Westbrook on the floor It s been a brutal meager weeks for Westbrook in Denver after seeming to refurbish his career in the winter months There was the double-overtime loss to Minnesota in which Westbrook s late-game mistakes cost the Nuggets There was his stony demeanor in a later league-mandated media availability There was his undeserved pressure point in the Michael Malone-Calvin Booth firings But he exorcised specific demons Saturday as Adelman let Russ be Russ He knifed to the rim on several big fourth-quarter cuts snagged a couple key offensive rebounds to extend possessions and hit the early shot of the Nuggets playoff run a wide-open corner to give Denver a - lead with seconds left Westbrook did lose his dribble and fail to get off a final shot at the end of regulation forcing overtime But his impact well outweighed his mistakes giving the Nuggets a massive lift despite finishing just of from the floor One lingering and highly significant question What on earth does Adelman do with Porter The sharpshooter was invisible Saturday going scoreless after a corner triple seconds into the challenge and sitting in favor of Westbrook Nuggets solve James Harden and Harden solves them right back Adelman called the Clippers Harden one of the best pick-and-roll operators ever this week Then the Clippers all-time great took a Rockets-era flamethrower to the Nuggets initial defensive look Saturday waltzing on four separate runways to the rim off soft P R coverage and then draining two stepback triples to close the frame After a -point first quarter though Denver held Harden to just points for the rest of regulation with a mix of drop coverage and blitzes off pick-and-rolls Harden carved the Nuggets up in overtime though with two drives and a massive -foot three to cut Denver s lead to - with seconds left The Nuggets closed him and the Clippers out thanks in large part to ex-teammate Westbrook but the Harden back-and-forth adjustments will be a fascinating watch for the rest of the series Related Articles Nuggets Journal Why I voted Nikola Jokic for MVP over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Jalen Pickett on connection to Michael Malone-Calvin Booth rift It s kinda crazy Renck Is this Aaron Gordon s last stand for Nuggets Could be if Denver loses to Clippers Keeler Nuggets Nikola Jokic requirements Bubble Jamal Murray to get another NBA title David Adelman Nikola Jokic and the creative process of designing offense around a center who can do everything Jamal Murray guts through more leg trouble On a second-quarter leak-out from Kawhi Leonard the Clippers wing softly stepping his way to a layup to put Los Angeles up - Murray flew by and landed awkwardly one of the worst doable sights for the Nuggets after Murray missed six late regular-season games with a hamstring injury He bent over grimacing for a moment seemingly unable to put much weight on his left leg Murray returned to the floor after a timeout exchanging several words with David Adelman He was both tentative and inexplosive the rest of the first half the Nuggets playoff closer finishing with just six points on -of- shooting before the break But in the second even as Murray still visibly struggled to generate consistent lift on midrange pull-ups the Nuggets Robin shot several daggers deep into the Clippers heart He held his hands out palms up after a fourth-quarter wing to knot the figure at with seven minutes left He sneered at Ball s home crowd after another trey a insufficient minutes later And he dropped in a key overtime floater finishing with points on -of- shooting Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis