The first round of the game for three consecutive years! The Clippers were eliminated by the Nuggets twice, and Harden lost the tiebreaker battle.

In the key tiebreak battle, the Clippers lost to the Nuggets 101-120 and were eliminated 3-4 in a big score. It is worth mentioning that the Clippers have all stopped in the first round in the last three seasons, losing to the Mavericks 2-4 and 1-4 respectively in the first two seasons. However, Leonard suffered injuries in the past two seasons and only played two playoffs respectively. Leonard played in every playoff game this season, but unfortunately he still couldn't break through the first round.

This is also the first time Leonard has finished the season finale since 2020, but he also lost to the Nuggets in the tiebreak battle. Leonard has been with the Clippers for 6 seasons. Due to injuries, his performance in the playoffs is hard to describe. In the first season, Leonard was expected to lead the Clippers to the Western Conference Finals, but was reversed 1-3 by the Nuggets in the semi-finals. In the 20-21 season, although the Clippers reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time in the history of the team, Leonard was injured in the second round. In the

21--22 season, Leonard was reimbursed for the season, and the Clippers finally ranked eighth in the regular season, but lost two playoffs in a row and missed the playoffs directly. Leonard missed many games due to injury in the next two seasons. Although he returned to the end of the regular season, he only played two games due to injury in the playoffs, so the Clippers played in the first round in a row. However, Leonard performed well in this round of the series, averaging 25.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.

Harden also failed again in the tiebreak match today. He played for 35 minutes, made 2 of 8 shots, 2 of 2 free throws, 1 of 4 three-pointers, and scored only 7 points and 5 rebounds, but also sent 13 assists, with a plus-minus value of -29. It is worth mentioning that the Clippers fell behind by 35 points today, and the last team that fell behind by 30 points in the tiebreak battle was the 76ers in 2023, when Harden played for the 76ers. At that time, facing the Celtics in the tiebreak, Harden also performed poorly, shooting 3 of 11 shots, scoring only 9 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.

So far in his career, Harden has lost the tiebreak game in the Rockets, Nets, 76ers and Clippers. 2018 is the closest year for Harden to win the championship, but he lost to the Warriors in the tiebreak of the Western Conference Finals and missed the finals and the championship. In the semi-finals of 2021 and 2023, Harden played until the tiebreaker. He was expected to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, but unfortunately he lost.

Harden played a total of 7 tiebreakers in his career, averaged only 19.3 points per game, shot only 35% from the field, and had a record of only 3 wins and 4 losses. Harden won three tiebreak battles, one was to eliminate the Grizzlies in the 2011 semi-finals, the other was to reverse the Clippers 1-3 in the 2015 semi-finals, and the other was to eliminate the Thunder in the first round of 2020. It is because he has been repeatedly defeated in key competitions that Harden has not won the championship yet.