We expected a heavyweight battle between Nikola Jokic and Ivica Zubac. What we got was a traditional heavyweight style fight between all of the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers. Emmet Ryan on a Game 1 in the NBA Playoffs that spoke to the tone of the series to come.
Keeping it in the tank for the championship rounds while hitting enough of your big blows early is the balancing act for a heavyweight fighter. Both Ivica Zubac and Nikola Jokic were fully aware of the measured approach needed, not just in Game 1 but with an eye on the wider series.
Big meaty men slapping meat
Ivica Zubac vs Nikola Jokic was the fight we were all waiting for. What maybe was overlooked was how the self-confidence the bigs share seeps through those around them. It’s not a matter of respect. The Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers each believe they can go blow for blow with each other.
It was Zubac who played the smoother in the early going. He reduced Jokic’s offensive efficacy (no, not efficiency although that too), while looking like he had the easiest of times when he had the rock.
Not that Nikola was lost at sea. He just needed a few minutes to figure things out. Once he did, the cerebral athlete got to work finding new ways to make space for himself. Switch for switch, possession for possession, the adjustments came. The first quarter was gritty but felt like a taster for the proper fight to come.
Enter Bogi and Batum
While far from the stars for the Clippers, the contributions of Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nicolas Batum off the bench were visibly relevant for the Clippers. The two brought some grit and teeth to the second unit of the Los Angeles side, enabling the visitors to have their own way with the hosts for large chunks of the first half.
The necessity of Nikola Jokic to the Nuggets was worryingly obvious. With him sitting, Denver really didn’t look at the races at all. Ivica Zubac clearly got back to business after his spell of rest on the bench and it looked awfully easy for the visitors.
There’s little, if any, mystery to Zubac’s game. He’s just really good at some fundamental aspects of basketball. The Croat is not a riddle to be solved, he just dares you to outplay him. In the process, aided in no small part by Bogi and Batum, he’s added a layer of reliability that isn’t normally associated with the Los Angeles Clippers. Even the Lob City Clippers couldn’t claim that. It makes for a dangerous proposition in postseason play.
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A deep breath
The midpoint of the third was where we saw the real bite in the big man battle. Zubac had turned creator more but was forced into mop-up duty on a broken play. He couldn’t quite pull it off and then it was immediately back down the floor.
There was Nikola Jokic, backing down the Croat. Wait, no, first he inhaled like a man who knew he’d need the extra breath. Then he went to work. Ivica Zubac was of a similar mindset, a miss for the Nuggets this time. With the Clippers up by 6, it was anyone’s game but the physicality of the battle was becoming more visibly obvious.
It spoke to how both sides feel about what is ahead. These are two sides that recognise the even nature of the match-up. This is a pairing that could easily go the full 7 games. The 12 point tally in the frame for Jokic belied what was truly happening. It was a measurement. Two sides gauging what it would take to survive a drag out brawl over the next two weeks or so.
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Drag it out and fight
To the shock of nobody, Nikola Jokic didn’t exactly sit long to start the fourth. The big guy is going to have to go 40 a night throughout the postseason, no matter how long it lasts for the Nuggets. Ivica Zubac, by contrast, will probably be more selectively used long depending on the match-up.
The Clippers were surprisingly composed. They opted to give Zubac his full rest, even with the impact being clearly detrimental to their cause. A Jamal Murray three tied things up, as Jokic had fun working out of double-teams. They pulled the trigger not long after and we got the final fight we all wanted.
With 2.21 left, Jokic was perfectly still. The rebound off a missed Kawhi Leonard effort must have touched three bodies before it neatly landed in the arms of the stationary Serb. Yet Zubac was unphased. He got the go-ahead score for the Clippers on a goaltend, right after the Joker missed a pair from the line. So, of course, Jokic found an open Russell Westbrook for a must-make three. On we went to overtime to decide it.
The game within the game
On Thanksgiving in 2010, I had just landed in New York on holiday. The four of us on the trip fell into a bar as we fought the fatigue to adjust to local time. It made me truly hate overtime like few other things. Notre Dame played Wisconsin in one of the early season classics and the OT was a bore. Once the Fighting Irish got fouled the first time, it felt like the Badgers were digging up.
I’ve softened on OT in the years since. Largely because every version of it outside of the college game has evolved to look more like actual basketball. That’s what we had in Denver. The Nuggets and Clippers felt the extra importance of each possession but still went at their opponent with courage.
Braun’s save was treated like a normal occurrence by Nikola Jokic. He moved off Ivica Zubac and Kawhi had to foul him. Every possession was a fight. The flip to Braun with Zubac on his back. Three for Denver. Game 1 to the Nuggets.
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