James Harden succumbs to defensive pressure of Christian Braun in Clippers' Game 7 crash in Denver

DENVER (AP) — Everywhere James Harden tried to go, there was Christian Braun in his way.

For that, thank the personal scouting report offered up from Harden's former teammate and Denver Nuggets sixth man Russell Westbrook. He passed along plenty of useful tips to Braun about guarding the Los Angeles Clippers' star.

Closely covered by Braun all night, Harden was just 2-of-8 from the floor and scored seven points in the Clippers' season-ending 120-101 loss to the Nuggets on Saturday in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series.

It was a sporadic shooting series for Harden all around as he shot 43.6%. After going off for 32 points in Game 1, he averaged just 16.5 points per game the rest of the series.

“James is a tough cover,” said Westbrook, who was teammates with Harden last season. “Christian did a good job trying to make the game difficult on him. I thought he did an excellent job and he has been doing that all year.”

Braun deflected the credit. He said he was able to play tighter defense on Harden because of players such as Aaron Gordon behind him. They were there waiting, just in case Harden broke away.

“I couldn’t pick him up and pressure him all game if I didn’t have the guys behind me that were flying around," Braun said.

Braun listened intently to the words of wisdom from Westbrook.

“He’s played against James. He’s played with James, so he kind of knows his game," Braun said. “He was telling me what looks to give him, when to give him this look, when to do this, when to force him right, when he goes right this is what he’s doing. I learned that over the course of this series. I got better and better as we went and the guys and the coaches trusted me tonight. We didn’t want to switch, they kept me on him all night.”

Braun was just as big on the offensive end, too. He had 21 points, including three 3-pointers in Game 7. But it was his defense that earned the most praise.

“He did what he’s been doing,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said. "We tried to be a little more conservative once he crossed half-court in the coverage. But then it was on Christian to get through screens and get back in front of him, to maintain our defense. ”

For Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, it was a rough 48th birthday. His team trailed by double digits at halftime and fell behind by 35 points in the fourth quarter.

“Tough loss. Not playing our best game in a situation like this, a lot of emotions,” Lue said. “I told guys to bring it in, one last hug.”

They can take solace in the fact that Kawhi Leonard heads into the offseason as healthy as he's been in a while. He didn't make his season debut until Jan. 4 due to issues with his surgically repaired right knee. Harden held things down until Leonard's return, which Lue applauded.

The Clippers entered the postseason as the league's hottest team, having won 18 of 21, and Lue was already looking past the disappointment.

“Those two together for a whole season, I think will be tremendous,” Lue said.

Harden, though, turns 36 in August and Leonard turns 34 next month. Is there a level of encouragement the Clippers can continue to build around them?

“I guess we’re still playing at a high level in a sense,” Leonard said. “It’ a hard question to answer right now.”

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Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, right, drives to the basket as Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun, left, defends in the second half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, left, drives to the basket past Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun, center, in the second half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Los Angeles Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr., left, drives to the basket as Denver Nuggets guards Christian Braun, back left, and Russell Westbrook, right, defend in the second half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Los Angeles Clippers guard Cam Christie, center, drives to the basket between Denver Nuggets guards Jalen Pickett, left, and Christian Braun in the second half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden, top center, looks to pass the ball to forward Derrick Jones Jr., bottom center, as Denver Nuggets guards Jamal Murray, left, and Christian Braun (0) defend in the first half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden, right, looks to drive past Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun, left, in the first half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)