Clippers' Collapse in 2020 NBA Playoffs

Clippers Vs Nuggets

'The Curse of the Clutch: How the Denver Nuggets Buried the LA Clippers’ Championship Dreams'

The 2020 NBA Playoffs – A Collapse Foretold

The Los Angeles Clippers entered the 2020 NBA Bubble as the team to beat. Kawhi Leonard, fresh off a championship with Toronto, and Paul George, the All-NBA wing, formed a seemingly unstoppable duo. They had depth, swagger, and a billionaire owner hungry for a title. The Denver Nuggets? Just a scrappy underdog led by a jokester center and a baby-faced assassin.

But by the end of their Western Conference Semifinals series, the Clippers would unravel in spectacular fashion—a meltdown so shocking it would haunt the franchise for years.

Game 1-3: The Illusion of Dominance

The Clippers stormed out to a 3-1 lead, looking every bit the juggernaut. Kawhi was a cold-blooded assassin, PG was hitting shots, and Denver’s defense seemed helpless. The Nuggets were on the ropes, their flaws exposed.

Then, everything changed.

Game 5: The First Cracks

With a chance to close out the series, the Clippers faltered. Jamal Murray erupted for 26 points, Nikola Jokić dissected their defense, and Denver clawed back. The Clippers’ offense stalled—iso ball, missed threes, frustration creeping in.

'We just got to be better,' Doc Rivers muttered postgame, but the seeds of doubt were planted.

Game 6: The Unraveling

Denver’s comeback gained steam. Jokić dominated Montrezl Harrell, exposing the Clippers’ lack of a true defensive anchor. Murray, playing like a man possessed, dropped 21 in the third quarter alone. The Clippers’ body language turned toxic—glaring at each other, barking at the refs, collapsing under pressure.

Then, the dagger: a 16-point lead evaporated in the second half. Denver forced a Game 7.

Game 7: The Burial

The Clippers came out flat. Their shots clanked, their defense was a step slow, and their stars vanished. Kawhi and PG combined for 24 points on 10-38 shooting. Meanwhile, Jokić and Murray toyed with them, running pick-and-rolls at will.

By the fourth quarter, it was a massacre. The Nuggets celebrated like they’d won a title. The Clippers? They slunk off the court, their season—and their aura of invincibility—shattered.

The Aftermath: A Franchise in Ruins

Doc Rivers was fired days later.

The locker room fractured—rumors swirled of Kawhi and PG clashing with teammates.

Denver, meanwhile, rode their momentum to the Western Conference Finals, cementing themselves as a future dynasty.

The Clippers’ collapse wasn’t just a loss—it was a psychological scar. A team built to win it all had been exposed when it mattered most. And Denver? They played the perfect villains, stealing the Clippers’ soul in the process.

To this day, Clippers fans still ask: What if they hadn’t choked? But in the true crime of NBA history, the 2020 Nuggets didn’t just beat the Clippers—they buried them.

Case Closed. 🚨

Clippers' Collapse in 2020 NBA Playoffs

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