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Kawhi, Morris Sr. Clip the Nuggets

Published Sep. 4, 2020 12:17 a.m. ET

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The Los Angeles Clippers are on the board first.

After dispatching of the Dallas Mavericks in six games, the Clippers claimed Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal matchup with the Denver Nuggets, 120-97.

LA has now scored at least 111 points in every game this postseason.

Here are the key takeaways from this Western Conference semifinal matchup:

1. Kawhi Leonard is a machine

In the Clippers' first round matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, Kawhi Leonard averaged 32.8 points while shooting 54% from the field. He finished the series with five straight games of at least 30 points.

And he picked up right where he left off in Game 1 against the Nuggets.

Leonard finished with 29 points in only three quarters of play while shooting 12-for-16 from the field. And when Kawhi is clicking, LA simply doesn't lose, considering 'The Klaw' has shot 50% or better 31 times this season and the Clippers have won 28 of those contests.

2. Marcus Morris Sr. Appreciation Night

When the Clippers acquired Marcus Morris Sr. at the trade deadline, it was believed that he would add shooting and defensive versatility to an already deep roster.

In his first 12 games with the Clippers, Morris Sr. struggled to find his shooting touch from deep, shooting 28.3% from three-point range before the stoppage.

However, those struggles are officially a thing of the past.

After shooting 57.8% from three-point range in the first round against the Mavericks, he continued his torrid shooting with a 4-for-6 outing from deep in Game 1 against Denver.

Morris' shooting rhythm has coincided with the Clippers being the highest scoring team in the playoffs, averaging 126.7 points per game coming into tonight.

And the best part of Morris' night? 

Halftime daddy duty.

3. Denver falls flat

After a hard fought 7-game series with the Utah Jazz, the Nuggets had only one day of rest before Thursday night's opener against LA.

In short, it showed.

The Nuggets shot 42.2% from the field and only 25%from three-point range, and for the second consecutive game, they failed to score 100 points.

Thursday also marked the second straight game Jamal Murray didn't reach 20 points, scoring just 12 after scoring 17 in Game 7 against the Jazz.

Murray's 29 points in two games comes off the heels of a 3-game stretch in which he scored 143 points against Utah.

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