A James Harden floater on the other end tied the score, giving Denver one last chance to win. Once again, the ball found its way to Westbrook behind the arc. This time, however, he got caught playing indecisively. The Nuggets didn't even get a shot up.

The Nuggets emerged with a 112-110 Game 1 overtime win over the Clippers after Nikola Jokic iced it with a pair of free throws with 6.5 seconds left. Russell Westbrook had made the decisive defensive play, knocking Nicolas Batum’s inbound pass out of bounds off a Clippers teammate to force a turnover in a three-point game.

DENVER — Russell Westbrook, whose late-game follies hung over the Nuggets as they navigated the stunning dismissals of coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth on the eve of the playoffs, came up clutch against his former team in crunch time Saturday.