Are the Denver Nuggets right where the Los Angeles Clippers want them, at home for Game 7?

DENVER (AP) — When David Adelman took over the Denver Nuggets following the shocking dismissal of Michael Malone on the eve of the NBA playoffs, he engineered a full-court press, so to speak, to close out the regular season.

They flew to Sacramento and beat the Kings by eight points a day after the winningest coach in franchise history was fired along with the general manager who put the final pieces in place for the team's only NBA title, in 2023.

They followed that with big wins over playoff-bound Memphis at home and Houston on the road to secure the No. 4 seed in the West for their first-round playoff series with the No. 5 seed Los Angeles Clippers, who finished with the same 52-30 record.

The Clippers forced a Game 7 with a gritty 111-105 win Thursday night at home, sending the series back to Denver.

“You win those last three games not just to stay out of the play-in, but to get the home court in Game 7, and we earned it,” Adelman said. “That’s what I told them. You’ve earned this opportunity. ... You play all year for that. We got that opportunity, and we’re very excited to go back out there and play again.”

Maybe the Clippers have the Nuggets right where they want them, however.

The Clippers won Game 2 at Ball Arena 105-102, and twice in the Nikola Jokic era the Nuggets have succumbed in a Game 7 at home, against Portland in 2019 and against Minnesota last year when Denver blew a 20-point second-half lead.

“It’s going to be a different team. It’s going to be a different type of series,” Jamal Murray said. “We’ve just got to play our game. I don’t think there’s anything to overthink. We’ve just got to come out with the same kind of desperation, the same kind of intent. I’ve played in quite a few Game 7s, so it’s 3-3. Next team wins. Everybody is up for grabs. Everybody on the bench is ready to go, and we’re going to do everything in our power to win the game."

BetMGM Sportsbook installed the Clippers at 1 1/2-point favorites Saturday despite the Nuggets' wire-to-wire, 16-point win in Game 5 at Ball Arena.

“Game 7 is going to be tough,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “But we’re ready for the challenge.”

When/Where to Watch: Game 7, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT

Series: Tied 3-3

BetMGM Sportsbook: Clippers by 1.5.

What to Know: The Nuggets have been one of the best offensive teams with Jokic on the court and one of the worst when he's on the bench. The key for the Nuggets is to keep the game from getting away from them during the minutes that Jokic is catching a breather. In their three wins so far, the Nuggets are minus-12 without Jokic; in their three losses, they're minus-24 without the three-time MVP who is coming off the best season of his career. They were minus-7 in their Game 6 loss Thursday night. ... The Nuggets have lost four of their last five close-out games since winning the franchise's only NBA championship two years ago. ... The Clippers were the victims the last time Denver won a Game 7. That came in the conference semifinals in the Florida bubble when the Nuggets overcame a 3-1 series deficit. ... Ivica Zubac and Nicolas Batum teamed up for a surprisingly effective defensive effort on the typically unguardable Jokic on Thursday night. The three-time MVP was held scoreless for 11 minutes in the third quarter and went only 2 for 9 in the second half. Afterward, Adelman decried the lack of free throws Jokic got — he only got to the line once and was 1-for-2 — and said if the officials are going to let the Clippers be this physical, he's going to have his players do the same in Game 7.

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Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., center, shoots as Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac, left, and forward Nicolas Batum defend during the second half in Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, right, reacts after receiving a foul call against him as forward Michael Porter Jr. stands by during the second half in Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard celebrates after scoring during the second half in Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden, right, tries to pass while under pressure from Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun during the second half in Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac, left, and Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook reach for a rebound during the second half in Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, center, grabs a rebound away from Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac, right, as guard Christian Braun reaches during the second half in Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Glenn Hall, a Hockey Hall of Famer whose ironman streak of 502 starts as a goaltender remains an NHL record, has died. He was 94.

Nicknamed “Mr. Goalie,” Hall worked to stop pucks at a time when players at his position were bare-faced, before masks of any kind became commonplace. He did it as well as just about anyone of his generation, which stretched from the days of the Original Six into the expansion era.

A spokesperson for the Chicago Blackhawks confirmed the team received word of Hall’s death from his family. A league historian in touch with Hall’s son, Pat, said Hall died at a hospital in Stony Plain, Alberta, on Wednesday.

A pioneer of the butterfly style of goaltending of dropping to his knees, Hall backstopped Chicago to the Stanley Cup in 1961. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the playoffs in 1968 with St. Louis when the Blues reached the final before losing to Montreal. He was the second of just six Conn Smythe winners from a team that did not hoist the Cup.

His run of more than 500 games in net is one of the most untouchable records in sports, given how the position has changed in the decades since. Second in history is Alec Connell with 257 from 1924-30.

“Glenn was sturdy, dependable and a spectacular talent in net,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “That record, set from 1955-56 to 1962-63, still stands, probably always will, and is almost unfathomable — especially when you consider he did it all without a mask.”

Counting the postseason, Hall started 552 games in a row.

Hall won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1956 when playing for the Detroit Red Wings. After two seasons, he was sent to the Black Hawks along with legendary forward Ted Lindsay.

Hall earned two of his three Vezina Trophy honors as the league's top goalie with Chicago, in 1963 and '67. The Blues took him in the expansion draft when the NHL doubled from six teams to 12, and he helped them reach the final in each of their first three years of existence, while winning the Vezina again at age 37.

Hall was in net when Boston's Bobby Orr scored in overtime to win the Cup for the Bruins in 1970, a goal that's among the most famous in hockey history because of the flying through the air celebration that followed. He played one more season with St. Louis before retiring in 1971.

“His influence extended far beyond the crease," Blues chairman Tom Stillman said. “From the very beginning, he brought credibility, excellence, and heart to a new team and a new NHL market.”

A native of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Hall was a seven-time first-team NHL All-Star who had 407 wins and 84 shutouts in 906 regular-season games. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975, and his No. 1 was retired by Chicago in 1988.

Hall was chosen as one of the top 100 players in the league's first 100 years.

Blackhawks chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz called Hall an innovator and “one of the greatest and most influential goaltenders in the history of our sport and a cornerstone of our franchise.”

“We are grateful for his extraordinary contributions to hockey and to our club, and we will honor his memory today and always,” Wirtz said.

The Blackhawks paid tribute to Hall and former coach and general manager Bob Pulford with a moment of silence before Wednesday night’s game against St. Louis. Pulford died Monday.

A Hall highlight video was shown on the center-ice videoboard. The lights were turned off for the moment of silence, except for a spotlight on the No. 1 banner for Hall that hangs in the rafters at the United Center.

Fellow Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur, the league's leader in wins with 691 and games played with 1,266, posted a photo of the last time he saw Hall along with a remembrance of him.

“Glenn Hall was a legend, and I was a big fan of his,” Brodeur said on social media. “He set the standard for every goaltender who followed. His toughness and consistency defined what it meant to play.”

AP Sports Writer Jay Cohen in Chicago contributed to this report.

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FILE - Glenn Hall, second from left, stands with fellow former Chicago Blackhawks players Stan Mikita, former general manager Tommy Ivan, Bobby Hull, Bill Wirtz and Tony Esposito during a pre-game ceremony at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Ill., April 14, 1994. (AP Photo/Fred Jewell, File)

FILE - St. Louis Blues goalie Glenn Hall, top right, is pinned to his net waiting to make a save on a Montreal Canadians shot as Blues' Noel Picard (4) tries to block the puck while Canadiens' John Ferguson (22) and Ralph Backstorm wait for a rebound in the third period of their NHL hockey Stanley Cup game, May 5, 1968. (AP Photo/Fred Waters, File)