The Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers are meeting in one of the most intriguing matchups in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. The first two games lived up to the hype with the Nuggets taking Game 1 in overtime and the Clippers pulling out Game 2 in a thriller to send the series back to Los Angeles tied at 1-1. Game 3 was a far more lopsided affair as the Clippers cruised to a 117-83 victory to take a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 was an absolute classic, with Aaron Gordon’s last-second putback dunk giving the Nuggets a 101-99 win to tie the series.
Both teams finished with 50-32 records in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, but Denver got the No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in this matchup thanks to a tiebreaker.
It was an interesting end to the regular season for the Nuggets, who fired title-winning coach Michael Malone earlier this month with just three games left on the schedule. David Adelman took over as assistant coach, and he’ll rely heavily on MVP candidate Nikola Jokić to navigate the 2025 playoffs. This is the Nuggets’ seventh consecutive trip to the playoffs, and they’ve made it to the second round in five of the last six seasons.
The Clippers, meanwhile, enter the postseason looking as dangerous as they’ve been all season. The Clippers went 19-9 after the All-Star break — the sixth-best record in the league — and they head into the playoffs with a healthy Kawhi Leonard. Leonard played 37 games this season, gradually ramping up his minutes. He scored 33 points and played 47 minutes on Sunday as the Clippers beat the Warriors in overtime to clinch this playoff spot.
Nuggets vs. Clippers schedule, results (Series tied, 2-2)
All times Eastern
Game 1: Nuggets 112, Clippers 110
Game 2: Clippers 105, Nuggets 102
Game 3: Clippers 117, Nuggets 83
Game 4: Nuggets 101, Clippers 99
Game 5: Tuesday, April 29 | Clippers at Nuggets | Time/TV TBD
Game 6: Thursday, May 1 | Nuggets at Clippers | Time/TV TBD
*Game 7: Saturday, May 3 | Clippers at Nuggets | Time/TV TBD
*if necessary
Nuggets vs. Clippers odds
Odds via DraftKings
- Series odds: Clippers -330, Nuggets +250
- Game 4 odds: Clippers -5.5, O/U: 214
CBS Sports will have updates and analysis below throughout the Nuggets-Clippers series.
