Was Christian Braun better on offense or defense in Game 7 Saturday night?
Denver Nuggets third-year guard Christian Braun was sensational on offense, outscoring three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic 21 points to 16 in Saturday night’s 120-101 Game 7 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in a first-round Western Conference playoff game at Ball Arena in downtown Denver.
In fact, only teammate Aaron Gordon and Clippers standout Kawhi Leonard finished with more points (22) than the 6-foot-6, 220-pound former University of Kansas and Blue Valley Northwest High standout, who hit 8 of 15 shots (3-of-5 from 3) while also contributing five rebounds, four assists and a steal in 38 minutes in the elimination game.
Though Braun’s scoring spree certainly proved pivotal in Denver’s advancing to the semifinal round against Oklahoma City (Game 1 is Monday night in OKC), it actually proved secondary to his work on defense. Braun drew the defensive assignment on high-scoring 16-year NBA veteran James Harden of the Clippers, who finished with seven points on 2-of-8 shooting (with 13 assists) in 35 minutes.
This is the same Harden who has scored as many as 61 points in a game (twice) — the same Harden who burned Denver for 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting in a 111-105 victory on Thursday in L.A., a victory that forced Saturday’s Game 7.
“James is a tough cover. He’s one of the best 1-on-1 players to play the game,” Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook, a teammate of Harden on three NBA teams, said in the interview room after the game.
“You’ve got to be able to take some things away. I thought Christian did good job of wearing on him, finding a way to try to make the game difficult for him. I thought he did an excellent job. He’s been doing that all year,” Westbrook added of Braun after his own 16-point, five-steal performance.
Braun deflected the credit after the game, saying he received valuable advice from Westbrook on how best to guard Harden.
“The biggest part was Russ. He’s played against James. He’s played with James. He kind of knows his game. He was telling me what looks to give him, when to give him this look, when to do this, when to force him right,” Braun said in his postgame interview session with media.
“I learned some things over the course of this series. I think I kind of got better and better as we went. The guys trusted me. The coaches trusted me. We didn’t want to switch. They kept me on him (Harden) all night. Credit goes to those teammates and the coaches for trusting me. I feel like he’s one of the best scorers to ever play the game,” Braun added.
Braun gave examples of when the 36-year-old Westbrook was able to offer a pointer here and there.
Remember, Harden is a 35-year-old, 11-time all-star; Braun a 24-year-old third-year pro, in his first season as a full time starter.
“All the time, whenever he sees something,” Braun said. “In Game 6, he (Harden) hit a stepback on me. Russ told me, ‘Show him different looks Show him this, show him that.’
“I fouled him (Harden) and he (Westbrook) would come over to me. It could be in the walk-through or if we’re watching film and he sees something. His knowledge is off the charts. Not only did Russ help me, he was great himself tonight on defense. He was flying around with five steals. My teammates did a great job flying around behind me. It was a team effort on him.”
Braun said the victory was especially gratifying considering how upset he was after last year’s Game 7 loss to Minnesota in Denver. The Nuggets blew a 20-point second-half lead in that 98-90 loss that prevented a trip to the conference finals.
“This is the exact moment I wanted. I felt like last year the team obviously had a missed opportunity,” he said of being able to win at home over the Timberwolves in Game 7.
“I felt like we should have won. Obviously they were the better team that night. I felt there was an opportunity left on the table. I felt like I wanted to be part of it. I wanted to be out there more. Everybody in the NBA wants to play more. I felt in that game I was playing well. I wanted to play more minutes. I got exactly what I wanted tonight.”
He played just 20 minutes in Game 7 against the Wolves versus his 38 minutes Saturday.
“The guys trusted me in that moment. I’m just glad it went our way,” Braun said.
This story was originally published May 4, 2025 at 1:01 PM with the headline "Was Christian Braun better on offense or defense in Game 7 Saturday night?."
