Monday night's Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Clippers game—the second in the opening-round series between the Western Conference No. 4 and No. 5 seeds—was a frenetic, back-and-forth affair with 18 lead changes and numerous dramatic moments down the stretch. Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. found himself on the wrong end of one of the game's biggest plays, one that added insult to injury as he writhed on the court, watching Clippers guard Norman Powell bury what proved to be the game-winning shot.
With just over 1:30 left in the game and the score tied at 100, Porter Jr. hauled in a key rebound off of a Kawhi Leonard miss. As he went to make an outlet pass up the floor, the ball appeared to slip off of his fingers, falling just a few feet in front of him. He and Kris Dunn hit the floor to try and corral it, and Dunn landed on Porter Jr.'s shoulder. As he laid on the court in pain, the Clippers used the player advantage to find Powell open for a go-ahead three. Powell was just 5 of 14 from the field on Monday, but his final shot was pure, putting Los Angeles up on Denver 103–100. The Clippers would hold on to win 105–102.
