Nikola Jokic, Nuggets Even Series with Game 2 Win vs. Kawhi Leonard, Clippers

The Denver Nuggets scored 44 points in the first quarter and played excellent defense otherwise as they evened their Western Conference Semifinal playoff series at one game apiece with the Los Angeles Clippers 110-101 on Saturday at ESPN's Wide World of Sports Complex.

Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic combined to score 44 of their 53 points in the first half. Jokic had 24 points and 10 rebounds at halftime. Murray finished with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting.

The Clippers struggled from the field, with Kawhi Leonard going just 4-of-17 and the team shooting 40.9 percent overall. Paul George led the Clips with 22 points.

L.A. cut the Denver lead to seven on two occasions in the fourth quarter but could not come closer.

Notable Performances

Nuggets C Nikola Jokic: 26 points, 18 rebounds

Nuggets PG Jamal Murray: 27 points, 6 assists

Nuggets PF Paul Millsap: 13 points, 6 rebounds

Clippers F Paul George: 22 points, 8 rebounds

Clippers F Kawhi Leonard: 13 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists

Clippers C Ivica Zubac: 15 points, 9 rebounds

Dominant 1st Quarter Leads Denver to Victory

Gary Harris set the tone for the Nuggets early in this one:

That three-pointer kick-started a 14-2 run to open the game, and Denver's lead was never seriously threatened the rest of the way.

Murray and Jokic did the bulk of the scoring while the rest of their teammates dominated in other areas, namely defense. The star Nuggets pair combined to score 26 of Denver' first-quarter points, good enough to outscore the Clips by themselves by one during that span.

Jokic's three-point prowess helped the cause:

He finished 4-of-5 from three-point range on the night.

Murray led the team with six assists during his 40 minutes in addition to his game-high 27 points. The Nuggets took a 16-4 lead thanks largely to his efforts, which included 11 points and an assist up until that juncture. The only points he didn't have a hand in until then were courtesy of Harris' three-pointer.

Denver's offense cooled off for the other three quarters, including an ugly second half that saw the Nuggets post only 38 points total (and 17 in the third quarter).

It didn't matter, though, thanks to their dominant opening 12 minutes and some great defense on the other end en route to tying this series at one.

Clippers Can't Solve Denver's Defense, Led by Grant

"Without his defense on Kawhi, we don't win the game."

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said this line during his televised postgame press conference regarding Jerami Grant. It's hard to argue otherwise after the two-time NBA Finals MVP missed 13 of his 17 shots.

Grant shot just 1-of-9 from the field, but his defense was so good that he ended up playing 40 minutes en route to creating havoc on that end.

His efforts didn't go unnoticed:

Before Game 2 began, Kendra Andrews of The Athletic explained why Grant is the X-factor in this series: "Grant has become the go-to Nugget to defend Kawhi Leonard. There isn't any defender who has the ability to shut Leonard down. But they need to at least make it more difficult. Grant can do this."

That take turned out to be quite prophetic as Grant made life far more difficult for Leonard, who had the worst shooting night of his entire season, and put Denver in position to win.

Andrews also explained why Grant has done so well in particular:

"Grant's length proves useful when contesting three-pointers and pull-up shots. Even when opponents try to shake him off, his 7-foot-9 wingspan and quick footwork allow him to close out on the distance between him and the shooter.

"His lateral quickness also comes in handy when defending players like Leonard, who have the ability to quickly lose his defender. It allows Grant to stay right in front of the player he is defending. Having the ability helps prevent dribble penetration at the point of attack and containing drives once they are in motion— again, two things Leonard does in excess."

One example of how his 7'9" wingspan proves beneficial on defense occurred on this block on a Paul George shot at the rim:

He finished with two steals and three blocks, and the Nuggets outscored the Clips by 15 while he was on the court. On the flip side, Leonard finished a team-worst minus-16.

Of course, Leonard is too good to go cold from the field like this throughout the series, and he had just scored 29 points on 12-of-16 shooting en route to a 120-97 against this same Denver team in Game 1.

But Grant is a serious problem for the Clips, who have to find a way to overcome his lockdown defense to put Denver away.

What's Next?

Game 3 is scheduled for Monday at 9 p.m. ET. TNT will televise the contest.

Games 4 and 5 will occur Wednesday and Friday, respectively.