Denver Nuggets vs LA Clippers Player Stats and Box Score (Apr. 24) | Game 3, 2025 NBA Playoffs

The LA Clippers put on a defensive clinic to beat up the Denver Nuggets 117-83 in Game 3 on Thursday. In a game that was close only in the first quarter, the Clippers dominated the Nuggets after back-to-back closely-fought encounters in Denver. The Clippers could take a 3-1 series with another win on Saturday.

James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac and Norman Powell carried the offense. Leonard, Zubac, Derrick Jones Jr. and Kris Dunn gave the Clippers' defense the force to shackle the Nikola Jokic-led offense.

Jokic finished the game with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists. He could easily gotten more assists had his teammates been more consistent with their shots.

The Nuggets have to figure out how to solve the Clippers' defensive dominance or it could become a short series.

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Denver Nuggets vs LA Clippers player stats and box score

Denver Nuggets player stats and box score

Player	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG	3-PT FG	FT	+/-
Aaron Gordon	15	7	0	0	0	2	6-16	2-4	1-1	-10
Michael Porter Jr.	7	6	1	0	1	1	2-9	1-6	2-2	-25
Nikola Jokic	23	13	13	1	0	2	9-14	2-3	3-4	-20
Jamal Murray	23	0	4	1	0	3	8-15	1-4	6-6	-15
Christian Braun	9	6	1	1	1	1	4-9	0-1	1-3	-11
Zeke Nnaji	1	1	0	1	0	1	0-2	0-2	1-2	-8
Hunter Tyson	0	0	0	0	0	1	0-1	0-1	0-0	-8
Peyton Watson	2	2	0	0	0	1	1-4	0-0	0-0	-29
DeAndre Jordan	0	1	0	0	0	1	0-0	0-0	0-2	-1
Russell Westbrook	3	1	1	0	0	1	1-5	1-5	0-0	-16
Jalen Pickett	0	0	0	0	0	2	0-1	0-0	0-0	-23
Julian Strawther	0	1	0	0	1	0	0-1	0-0	0-0	-4
Dario Saric	DNP	-	-	-	-	-		-	-	-
Vlatko Cancar	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

LA Clippers player stats and box score

Player	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG	3-PT FG	FT	+/-
Kawhi Leonard	21	11	6	0	0	2	7-17	3-6	4-5	+18
Ivica Zubac	19	9	1	0	1	2	8-12	0-0	3-6	+21
James Harden	20	6	9	0	0	1	6-14	3-8	5-6	+25
Norman Powell	20	1	3	1	0	0	7-12	3-8	3-3	+13
Kris Dunn	6	8	0	0	1	0	2-5	2-4	0-0	+8
Nicolas Batum	12	5	2	0	3	0	4-6	4-6	0-0	+23
Drew Eubanks	3	0	0	0	0	0	0-1	0-0	3-4	+6
Derrick Jones Jr.	10	1	0	1	2	1	4-8	2-3	0-2	+20
Patty Mills	3	0	0	0	0	1	1-2	1-1	0-0	+6
Ben Simmons	0	3	1	1	1	1	0-2	0-0	0-0	+9
Bogdan Bogdanovic	2	1	3	0	0	0	1-3	0-2	0-0	+3
Jordan Miller	1	1	0	1	0	0	0-1	0-1	1-2	+6
Kobe Brown	0	1	1	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	+6
Cam Christie	0	2	0	0	0	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	+6
Amir Coffey	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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Denver Nuggets vs LA Clippers Game Summary

The Denver Nuggets flew to Los Angeles on Thursday for Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series against the LA Clippers. Nikola Jokic and Co. left Mile High City hoping to regain home-court advantage. The Nuggets looked for revenge after losing Game 2 105-102 on Monday.

The Nuggets built a 22-16 lead midway through the first quarter behind Aaron Gordon's 11 points. LA buckled down to work to surge to a strong ending to the period and take a 35-28 lead after the first 12 minutes ended.

The home team showed its elite defense in the second quarter, limiting the Nuggets to 19 points in the period. LA's two-way dominance gave it a 65-47 lead at halftime.

The Nuggets went toe-to-toe with the Clippers in a defensive slugfest in the third quarter. LA had more attempts but could not efficiently convert baskets. Denver went 6-for-13, including 2-for-3 from deep, to keep in step with the home team. Still, the Clippers, which already had a significant lead, gladly entered the fourth quarter with a 90-70 advantage.

The Clippers again imposed their will defensively in the fourth quarter. They kept the Nuggets outbalanced by giving Nikola Jokic different looks. Denver's inability to capitalize on the Clippers' focus on the three-time MVP doomed the visiting team.