Kawhi Leonard's 39 Ponits Leads Clippers To A 105-102 Win Over Nuggets To Even Series 1-1

kawhi leonards 39 ponits leads clippers to a 105102 win over nuggets to even series 11

Kawhi Leonard scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting and the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round playoff series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver on Monday night.

Christian Braun was long on a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left, and Nikola Jokic, who recorded his 19th career playoff triple-double, grabbed the rebound but also missed a 3, with 1 second remaining.

The Clippers, who lost Game 1 in overtime, haven't lost back-to-back games since March 2-4, a stretch of 23 games, and they handed David Adelman his first loss in five games since replacing Michael Malone in a stunning move on the eve of the playoffs.

Jokic, just the third player to average a triple-double over a season , had 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists and Jamal Murray added 23 points for the Nuggets, who also got a bounce-back game from Michael Porter Jr. 15 points and 15 rebounds after his 3-point performance in Game 1.

It wasn't enough against Leonard, who had 21 points at the break, including a pull-up 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer that broke a 52-all tie.