On a night when the Los Angeles Clippers gave away t-shirts adorned by his face, Norm Powell made sure that the spotlight would remain on him.
Powell came up big when Los Angeles needed him the most, scoring 16 of his 24 points in the second half for the Clippers to lead them to a 111-105 win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 of their best-of-seven Western Conference First Round Series. He hit nine-of-15 field goals, including two three-pointers—and made all four of his free throws.
The 6’3 guard made the most memorable plays of the night—a thunderous two-handed dunk over Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray midway through the third quarter followed by a timely three-pointer with 1:47 left in the contest to extend Los Angeles’ lead to nine, 110-101.
The Clippers desperately needed this strong performance from Powell, who has been one of the team’s biggest surprises this season, to keep their season alive. The duo of Kawhi Leonard and James Harden may still be one of the best in the league, but to keep up with the balanced attack of the Nuggets, they need a consistent third scoring option, whether it be Powell or Ivica Zubac.
The 31-year-old must keep this up come Game 7 at Denver if Los Angeles is to pull off a victory. When he is firing on all cylinders, the Clippers are tough to cover given his elite ability to score in bunches which takes pressure off Leonard and Harden.
Powell started off the season as a pleasant surprise for this team, but now that the postseason has started and the stakes are higher, his production is no longer just a mere bonus, but something that Los Angeles needs to be the norm moving forward.
