Clippers blow late lead, fail to close out Nuggets

Given a chance to make history, the Clippers instead gave life to the idea they might instead repeat it.

Leading by seven points with only 12 minutes separating them from advancing to the first conference final in the franchise’s 50-year history, the Clippers were blitzed by Denver’s hot-shooting fourth quarter en route to a 111-105 loss Friday in Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinal.

Game 6 will be at 10 a.m. PDT Sunday.

The Clippers made 28% of their shots in the final quarter while Denver shot 61%, making seven of its nine three-pointers.

Jamal Murray had 26 points to lead Denver and Nikola Jokic scored 22. But the biggest shot belonged to reserve Michael Porter Jr., the 6-foot-10 forward who’d suggested before the series that he had a bit of extra motivation given that the Clippers had passed on drafting him in 2018.

One game after stirring controversy by stating publicly that his coach’s second-half play calls had effectively handcuffed his scoring, Porter drilled a 27-foot three-pointer with 1:11 remaining and his team up two points.

Two possessions later, Porter stuffed Clippers center Ivica Zubac at the rim.

Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points and Paul George added 26 for the Clippers, who made 42% of their shots overall.

The defeat revived torturous memories of 2015, when a late collapse in Game 5 of a second-round series against Houston spurred the Rockets’ rally from down 3-1 in the series to outlast the Clippers in seven games.

After a season-low 85 points in its previous game, Denver stressed the need to create easier opportunities to score in Game 5. Nuggets coach Michael Malone harkened back to the run-outs they’d scored throughout a Game 2 victory. By the first quarter’s end, however, Denver had zero points in transition while the Clippers had 11.

Leonard scored 12 points within the game’s first 12 minutes to look like a man ready to appear in his sixth career conference final. Yet the Clippers’ start wasn’t tied solely to their star. With Leonard resting to begin the second quarter, the Clippers rattled off a 14-2 run to lead 42-27.

It was their opportunity to break the game open, but they could not take advantage of what was, at its largest, a 16-point lead.

Denver’s Paul Millsap, an offensive afterthought for much of this series, scored 14 points in the third quarter to draw the Clippers’ lead down to seven.

George’s layup with 8:56 remaining gave the Clippers a six-point cushion and a chance to reassert control the way they had late in the previous two games.

Instead, the virtual fans on the videoboards surrounding the court held their heads as Denver began a 14-2 run over the next three minutes to capture its first lead since the second half of Game 3.

Leading by four with 1:58 remaining and with the Clippers attempting to rally, Denver suffered a major blow when its best perimeter defender, Gary Harris, fouled out on a possession that ended with Leonard making two free throws.

The Nuggets’ lead was down to two — where it would stay until Porter’s shot gave his team another shot to keep their season alive.

Greif reported from Los Angeles.