DENVER, Colo — It was a night of clutch performances, lucky bounces, and championship-level intensity. Thursday night, the Colorado Avalanche fought off elimination with a game 6 win against the Dallas Stars, while the Nuggets stumbled into game 7, after a grueling game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
AVS FORCE GAME 7
In sports, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good: Thursday night, the Avs were both.
With the game tied in the third period, Nathan MacKinnon flung the puck into a scrum in front of the net. The puck deflected off Dallas forward Colin Blackwell’s shoulder and fluttered past goaltender Jake Oettinger with 10:56 remaining, giving Colorado a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
“Super lucky,” MacKinnon admitted postgame. “Hopefully we get more of those Saturday.”
The Avalanche capitalized on a night of fortuitous bounces. Valeri Nichushkin, who had been struggling throughout the series, scored twice, including the game-tying goal. Artturi Lehkonen, Martin Necas, Josh Manson, and Cale Makar also added goals in a complete offensive effort.
Mackenzie Blackwood has faced criticism all year, some fair, some not, last night it was both. In the second period the Colorado goaltender gave up four goals on just nine shots from the Stars, but he did make 22 saves to preserve the win.
For the Avs, game 7 history hasn't been kind. The franchise is just 6-10 all time in game 7s, while Dallas head coach Pete DeBoer is a perfect 8-0 in Game 7s.
NUGGETS FALTER
It was the perfect opportunity to get some rest and put the regular season woes behind them, but the Denver Nuggets couldn't put away the Los Angeles Clippers Thursday night. Although Nikola Jokic led a furious late rally, the Nuggets fell 111–105 to the Clippers sending the Western Conference first-round series to game 7 at Ball Arena.
James Harden led the way for LA with 28 points, while Kawhi Leonard delivered a dominant two-way performance with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Leonard's effort etched his name into franchise history, marking his seventh postseason game with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists, the most in Clippers playoff history, passing Blake Griffin.
The Nuggets trimmed what was once a double-digit deficit to just six with under three minutes to play, thanks to an 11–2 run. But Norman Powell drilled a crucial three-pointer with 2:12 remaining, giving the Clippers the breathing room they needed to hang on.
“If someone loves basketball, this is the series to watch,” said Jokic.
The Joker was his usual dominant self in the first half, scoring 20 points and staying efficient as always. However, the Nuggets star scored just five points in the second half and only made it to the free-throw line once in the contest.
“For him to shoot two free throws with the amount of contact that was going on out there was absolutely crazy," said David Adelman, the Nuggets interim coach.
Adelman said the physicality from the Clippers set a standard for the final game. "If that's the physicality we're allowed to play with, we'll react to it. And we will go there in Game 7," said Adelman.
The Nuggets are 4-4 all time in game 7s, including last year's loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Semi-finals, which was played in Denver. Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue is 5-0 in game 7s during his coaching career.
The series comes back to Ball Arena for Game 7 on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. MST.
Game 7 for the Avalanche is set for Saturday night. Puck drops at 6 p.m. MST, and you can watch the game on Denver7.
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