“I would be SHOCKED if I’m sitting here after the game, and our guys as a team have the same type of effort that we did in Game 2.”

That was Michael Malone before Game 3, and boy was he right.

The Denver Nuggets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 117-90 in blowout fashion to take Game 3. It was almost the opposite of what happened in Game 2, and it was important that the Nuggets get this one done. Some would say absolutely essential (me).

“We started the game really well. I think the first quarter was a lot of really good basketball on both ends,” Nikola Jokic declared postgame. “Everything was sharp, everything was fast, good screens, good cuts. You make some shots and miss, but I think that it was quality basketball the first quarter and the whole game. We got the lead, we got the advantage, and we were just, I think, better tonight, than them.”

Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic led the way with 24 points apiece, and for both players, they were big boy points.

“You’re in hostile territory,” Michael Malone said of his stars’ response tonight. “That’s kind of where you separate the men from the boys, and our guys I think showed what we’re capable of and how dangerous we can be.”

Murray in particular was tremendous in the first half with 18 points on 13 shots, playing the majority of the half and looking a lot more shifty out there. Murray was on the receiving end of heavy boos by the Minnesota crowd throughout the game every time he touched the ball, presumably mad that he wasn’t suspended for Game 3.

Murray made some ridiculous shots in the half, including a shot behind the backboard at the end of the shot clock along the right baseline that got some groans from the Minnesota crowd.

“These fans here are great,” Malone shared. “That was an amazing atmosphere. You live for moments like that.”

Murray’s ability to get separation away from great defenders like Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker has been a sticking point throughout the series. He found ways to evade both, using elite screens from Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon to free himself up. He finished around the rim over Rudy Gobert, on fallaway jumpers separating from the T’Wolves wings, and just played with way better pace.

 “This was probably the best game I’ve felt going into the game, then it tightened up at the end. But it’s good, and at this point of the season, everybody’s dealing with something, so I’m just glad that I’m good enough to be out there and do my job at a high level.”

Jokic took awhile to get into this game as a scorer, but it was his 13 points in the third quarter that helped the Nuggets separate a bit. That and his defense. Jokic ultimately had 24 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, three steals, and three blocks tonight, locking in on the defensive end with great hands, quicker feet, and elite rebounding.

The decided difference in Jokic’s game tonight: physicality. He hit the Timberwolves wings every time down the floor with a hard screen, used his body well, and played a tremendously forceful game when the team needed it most.

Malone was adamant: “We have to have the physicality on offense as well. We have to attack. We have to screen. We have to hit.”

Jokic delivered on that. Aaron Gordon delivered on that. Michael Porter Jr. delivered on that. Gordon’s three three-pointers in the third quarter were tremendously important in keeping Denver’s lead. Porter hit some incredibly timely threes in transition, backbreaker possessions that forced Timberwolves timeouts. It was the quietest 21 points on 10 shots.

In order to recover from a disappointing performance like Game 2, the Nuggets had to stick together.

“We spent a lot of time together as a team,” Murray shared postgame. “Just focused man. Not just me, but everybody was just focused and dialed in and understood the task at hand. We still have a task to do.”

Malone and the Nuggets coaching staff showed several clips on the offensive and defensive end, emphasizing where the Nuggets had to be better tonight.

“We’ve had some very good meetings, great practice, positive film sessions, and some real film sessions,” Malone shared pregame. “Coaching isn’t cuddling. Coaching is accountability. Coaching is showing guys this is why we’re losing. That’s my job as a coach, and then the players’ job is to go out there and do something about it.”

Malone has always been the coach for this job, and his understanding of what the team needs remains elite. Deploying Justin Holiday and Christian Braun the way he did on the second unit tonight was very interesting, especially in the second quarter. Braun spent time at power forward, guarding Anthony Edwards, and hit a three-pointer. Holiday hit multiple threes and continues to connect the Nuggets defense in so many important ways throughout the game.

More than anything, this was about the Nuggets reestablishing belief in who they are and what they do. They’re the defending champions.

For the first time in these playoffs, the Nuggets played like it.

Final Rotations