Outside of Game 4, the Nuggets didn’t get MVP Nikola Jokic in the first round series against the Clippers. It didn’t matter.

For the first time since the last time Denver met Los Angeles in the 2020 Orlando bubble and for just the third time in his career, Jokic had multiple games with fewer than 20 points in a single series.

He had 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting from the field to go with 10 rebounds and eight assists in Denver’s Game 7 win over Los Angeles. As he dealt with foul trouble and played just over 32 minutes, his teammates picked him up.

“In (the) playoffs, we know that everybody needs to step up,” Jokic said. “Offensively, defensively, whatever. Everybody who plays needs to contribute somehow. Especially today, the guys did that.”

It wasn’t just Jokic, Jamal Murray also finished with just 16 points on 7-for-15 shooting as he never really overcame a slow start. Whether it was Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, Michael Porter Jr. or the bench crew, they all made an impact and picked up the slack from the team’s two stars.

“Everybody brought something,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said. “When you do that, you know that your two best players are eventually going to get going after a tough start. And they did.”

Watson plays big role off bench

Coming into the series, the one supposed advantage that the Clippers had was in depth and bench impact.

The Nuggets’ reserves flipped that narrative throughout the course of the series, but especially in Game 7. Russell Westbrook led the charge, but don’t discount the impact that Peyton Watson made.

A year after being benched in the Timberwolves series and not even playing in Game 7 against the Timberwolves, Watson played over 17 minutes and scored nine points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting from the field, including a 3-pointer, and grabbed four rebounds and blocked one shot to help the Nuggets more than survive the non-Jokic minutes.

“We don’t pay attention to what nobody says about who’s impactful and who’s not,” Watson said. “I think we all believe it intrinsically that we are the best bench in the league. We gotta continue to carry that pride and go out there and play with that mindset and I think with that mindset you can go out on any given night and it’ll be your night.”

Horde of Clippers fans make presence felt

It ended up being fornaught, but Clippers fans tried to make an impact in Game 7.

After creating a home court advantage at Inuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., L.A. owner Steve Ballmer bought tickets for 125 season-ticket holders and flew them out to Denver for Saturday’s decisive game, where they sat behind one of the baskets and made noise throughout the game, even forcing Nuggets fans to try and drown them out early.

“You even saw the turnout from the Clippers (fans). That was big time from them, as well,” Watson said. “Classy organization, great fans and it was a great series.”