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    NBA Playoffs: Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets semifinals preview

    The Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets will meet in the Western Conference semifinals with the winner advancing to the conference finals with hopes of getting to the NBA Finals.

    The Clippers didn’t have the easiest time in their first-round matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. All eyes were focused on second-year star Luka Doncic in the series but Los Angeles managed to keep him at bay and get a leg up on the series. The Clippers won the series 4-2.

    CLIPPERS’ MORRIS, MAVS’ DONCIC FINED FOR ACTIONS IN GAME 6

    Kawhi Leonard led the way with 32.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists and showed why he’s one of the best players in basketball. He had 33 points in Game 6 of the series to close it out.

    Los Angeles also got more than 15 points per game from Paul George and sixth man Lou Williams. Marcus Morris and Ivan Zubac both scored more than 10 points per game.

    On a few days’ rest, Los Angeles will get to face the Nuggets and attempt to stop their budding star, Jamal Murray.

    The Nuggets came back down 3-1 to defeat the Utah Jazz and move on to the next round. Murray wrapped up the seven-game series averaging 31.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. Nikola Jokic averaged 26.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game.

    It will be a tough task for Denver to get into the next round after only one day of rest in between Game 7 against the Jazz and Game 1 against the Clippers.

    CLICK HERE FOR NBA PLAYOFFS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

    Los Angeles has never gotten as far as the conference finals and the Nuggets haven’t been to the conference finals since 2009.

    **

    SCHEDULE (All times Eastern)

    Game 1: Sept. 3 (9 pm; TNT)

    Game 2: Sept. 5 (9 pm; TNT)

    Game 3: Sept. 7 (9 pm; TNT)

    Game 4: Sept. 9 (9 pm; ESPN)

    Game 5: Sept. 11 (TBD: TNT)

    Game 6: Sept. 13 (TBD; ESPN)

    Game 7: Sept. 15 (TBD; ESPN)

    Murray scores 42, Nuggets beat Jazz 117-107 in Game 5

    Jamal Murray scored 33 of his 42 points in a second half where he played every minute and the Denver Nuggets avoided elimination by beating the Utah Jazz 117-107 on Tuesday night in Game 5.

    The Nuggets trail the sixth-seeded Jazz 3-2 with Game 6 on Thursday.

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

    Murray was unstoppable down the stretch in nearly matching his 50-point effort in Game 4. He hit 17 of 26 shots and had eight assists, including a pass to Nikola Jokic for a 3-pointer with 23.6 seconds remaining that sealed the win.

    “Whenever he’s like that we are winning the game or we are really close,” said Jokic, who also didn’t sub out in the second half. “That’s what we need from him.”

    The dynamic tandem of Murray and Jokic clearly weren’t ready to leave the NBA bubble just yet. Jokic had it going early as he scored 21 of his 31 points in the the first quarter.

    Murray took over late after his team fell behind by as many as 15 points in the third quarter.

    “We’ve all got a will to win. Simple as that,” explained Murray, who played through a bruise on his knee. “That can carrying you. That can take you places.”

    With the game tied at 101, Murray scored nine straight for Denver to put the Nuggets up by nine with 1:20 to go.

    Donovan Mitchell finished with 30 points while wearing a pair of bright, multicolored shoes. The sharpshooter is averaging 37.6 points over the five games.

    Reserve Jordan Clarkson added 17 points and Joe Ingles found his rhythm with 13. Ingles had a combined two points in the previous two games.

    “I thought at some level, we just lost our composure when we were ahead,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “Oftentimes, when a team’s making a run you get a little distracted, and that’s when we have to come together even more. Our guys know that, and we’ll come out ready to play the next game.”

    The Nuggets turned in their best third period of the series when they needed it most. Trailing 63-54 at halftime, they outscored the Jazz 28-23. Utah has dominated the third quarter by a 142-92 margin before Tuesday.

    “This was a very important win for us to stay here and keep the series alive. We have to go out there and find a way to get a Game 6 and force a deciding Game 7,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “Jamal and Nikola will be the keys to us continuing doing that.”

    TIP-INS

    Jazz: Before the game, C Rudy Gobert had his two-year reign as the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year come to an end with Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo winning the award. Gobert had 11 points and 12 rebounds.

    Nuggets: F Michael Porter Jr. had 15 points and F Jerami Grant chipped in 13. … Although G Gary Harris was upgraded to “questionable” for Game 5, that balky right hip sidelined him again. His last NBA game was March 11.

    LOST FOCUS

    Mike Conley said there’s a lesson to be learned after the Jazz lost some of their focus with the lead.“Not to let our minds get away from our task at hand,” Conley said. “The other team doesn’t care what’s going on in your mind. They’re going to keep

    pushing and keep going and keep fighting. That’s what teams like Denver do. They’re very good. They’re not going to lay down easy.”

    HOT HAND

    Jokic hit all five 3-pointers he took in the first quarter. He’s the third player in the series to have five in a quarter, joining Murray (fourth quarter in Game 4) and Mitchell (third in Game 2).

    According to Basketball Reference, the playoff record for 3-pointers in a quarter is held by Antoine Walker. He had six by in the second quarter on April 28, 2002.

    M & M SHOW

    Murray and Mitchell keep turning in big performances. Mitchell has a pair of games in the series where he went for 50 or more points.

    “It’s fun,” Murray. “Not focusing on it. But it’s hard to not notice.”

    SOCIAL INJUSTICE

    Before their walk-through Tuesday morning, Malone and the Nuggets talked about the situation with Jacob Blake, a Black man whose shooting by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday has roiled the nation.

    “I am wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt. Black Lives Matter is on the courts. But a T-shirt and a slogan on a court is obviously not doing anything to stop the vicious cycle that we’ve seen time and time again,” Malone said.

    Nuggets’ Will Barton: Jersey messages won’t make enough impact

    Denver Nuggets’ guard Will Barton said Friday that he decided against wearing a social justice message on the back of his jersey at the NBA restart because he does not believe those actions will make enough of a real impact.

    Many NBA players took advantage of the chance to wear a saying like “Black Lives Matter” or “Equality” on the backs of their jerseys for the season that will resume July 30 at Walt Disney World.

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    “At the end of the day, none of these platforms are going to be enough,” Barton said. “If we think just us going out there, putting names on the back of our jerseys and still talking about it in the media is going to fix anything, we’re fooling ourselves.”

    The majority of players in the league, including 14 members of the Nuggets, will wear jerseys bearing some sort of message. Some, such as LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat, declined the opportunity for various reasons.

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    “It doesn’t matter if we have a statement on the back of our jersey,” Los Angeles Clippers forward and reigning NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard said earlier this week. “It’s about doing the work.”

    Barton said he wasn’t unhappy with the options that were presented to players. There were 29 choices for the backs of jerseys, with the NBA and National Basketball Players Association saying the idea was to continue raising awareness on matters such as police brutality and systemic racism.

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

    Barton is a native of the Baltimore area, and said he’s active where he’s from through conversations with schools and YMCAs. He believes efforts like those have more impact than putting words on the back of a jersey.

    “I’m always in the trenches,” Barton said. “I’m always talking to them … so I’m just going to continue to do that.”

    Bulls tab Nuggets’ Karnisovas to lead operations

    The Chicago Bulls came into the season thinking they were poised to contend for a playoff spot. The plan did not unfold the way they envisioned, and now, they have a new leader in the front office.

    The Bulls hired Denver Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas to run their basketball operation, a person familiar with the situation said Thursday night.

    The person, who confirmed reports by several outlets, spoke on the condition of anonymity because the move has not been announced.

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

    Longtime executive John Paxson was expected to move into an advisory role. The futures of general manager Gar Forman and coach Jim Boylen were unclear.

    The move allows the Bulls to have their new top executive in place if the season resumes from the COVID-19 pandemic suspension.

    The 48-year-old Karnisovas starred at Seton Hall and had a successful international career that included two Olympic bronze medals playing for Lithuania. He worked in basketball operations for the NBA from 2003 to 2008 and spent five years as an international scout for the Houston Rockets before joining Denver’s front office in 2013. He became the Nuggets’ general manager four years later, with Tim Connelly promoted from GM to president of basketball operations.

    Karnisovas had big roles in Denver taking two-time All-Star center Nikola Jokic in the second round of the 2014 draft with the 41st overall pick, as well as recent lottery selections Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Karnisovas and Connelly also have constructed a highly respected international scouting operations.

    Denver is third in the Western Conference and leading the Northwest division with a 43-22 record.

    Reports that the Bulls would shake up their front office surfaced during the All-Star break in Chicago. They thought they were ready to contend for a playoff spot with a young nucleus but were 11th in the Eastern Conference at 22-43 when the season was suspended.

    Paxson, who hit the championship-winning 3-pointer for Chicago against Phoenix in 1993, is stepping aside after 17 years running the front office.

    He took over as general manager in 2003 after Jerry Krause resigned following a failed rebuild in the wake of the Michael Jordan-Scottie Pippen era.

    Paxson was promoted to vice president of basketball operations in May 2009 with Forman — who joined the Bulls as a scout in 1998 — taking over as GM.

    ‘Kobe!’ chants break out before Denver Nuggets game as fans learn of NBA star’s tragic death

    Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in California on Sunday and news of his tragic death occurred right before the Denver Nuggets were set to play the Houston Rockets at their home arena.

    The Nuggets held a moment of silence before the National Anthem.

    As the public-address announcer was finished speaking, fans who had packed the Pepsi Center started chanting, “Kobe!”

     KOBE BRYANT AMONG THOSE KILLED IN CALIFORNIA HELICOPTER CRASH

    According to multiple reports, Bryant was on a helicopter flying over Calabasas – a city of 23,000 people located about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. TMZ Sports first reported that Bryant was killed in the crash. FOX Sports also confirmed the report of Bryant’s death.

    The Federal Aviation Administration told Fox News the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter crashed under “unknown circumstances.” The FAA said it was informed by local authorities there five people onboard at the time.

    KOBE BRYANT DEAD: TRUMP REACTS, CALLING IT ‘TERRIBLE NEWS’

    The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said all five onboard had died. They did not confirm the identities of the passengers at the late-morning press conference.

    Bryant, 41, was selected in the first round of the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets. He was subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac before the start of the 1996-97 season. It proved to be one of the most important trades in NBA history.

    KOBE BRYANT DEAD: STARS PAY TRIBUTE TO NBA LEGEND KILLED IN HELICOPTER CRASH

    Bryant would help lead the Lakers to five NBA championships and was a part of one of the best NBA dynasties alongside Shaquille O’Neal. Bryant and O’Neal won three straight NBA titles from 1999 to 2002. He then won two rings with Pau Gasol in 2009 and 2010.

    “The Black Mamba” wrapped up his playing career in 2016. He played his final game against the Utah Jazz and finished with an epic performance – 60 points, four rebounds and four assists.

    He finished his career as an 18-time All-Star, 15-time All-NBA team, 12-time All-NBA Defensive Team selection, two time NBA Finals MVP and the 2008 NBA MVP.

    Fox News’ Travis Fedschun contributed to this report.