The Los Angeles Clippers’ promising season ended in stunning fashion, suffering a humiliating 35-point Game 7 loss to the Denver Nuggets—one of the worst postseason defeats in franchise history.
Despite winning 50 games and outperforming expectations, the Clippers unraveled when it mattered most. They led Game 7 for just over 11 minutes—all in the first half—before Denver erupted for a 17-0 run early in the third quarter. From there, the Clippers never recovered.
Team Pres Calls Los Angeles Clippers Playoff Loss Uncharacteristic
“It was extremely embarrassing and uncharacteristic of the determination and resilience we showed all year,” said Clippers president Lawrence Frank, addressing the media via video conference. “We thought we had a chance to do something very special.”
Frank praised Denver’s execution—highlighting not just Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray but the entire rotation—while lamenting missed opportunities in Games 1 and 4.
The collapse left the Clippers speechless—literally. Outside of a brief media appearance by Kawhi Leonard, no players addressed the press. James Harden, who scored just seven points on 2-of-8 shooting, left without comment, despite head coach Ty Lue urging his camp to make him available.
“You don’t process this overnight,” Frank said, via Clutch Points. “But even now, there’s pride in what we built. Almost every rotation player maximized his role. We won 50 games when most had us pegged for the mid-30s.”
Looking ahead, Frank voiced confidence in the team’s core. The Clippers went 21-5 with Leonard, Harden, Ivica Zubac, and Norman Powell all in the lineup. The addition of Bogdan Bogdanovic also added a spark late in the season.
“We expect to be a serious threat again,” Frank said. “With more games from Kawhi, continued growth from our younger players, and offseason upgrades, we believe we can be better.”
Harden and Nicolas Batum hold player options but are expected to return. The team’s focus now shifts to internal development and roster tweaks to build on a season that, while ending in disappointment, showed meaningful progress.