Denver Nuggets feel ‘urgency’ down 2-1 in NBA play-off series against Minnesota Timberwolves

MINNEAPOLIS – Nikola Jokic has played in enough best-of-seven showdowns in the National Basketball Association (NBA) play-offs to know that his Denver Nuggets teammates and him can overcome a 2-1 series deficit.

But they better respond quickly, the 31-year-old centre said. “The next one is a really important game for us,” he said. “We’ve got to get out there with urgency and play much better.”

Denver aim to even up the series when they tip off against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis on April 25 (April 26 morning, Singapore time).

Minnesota have won back-to-back games in the series, including a dominant 113-96 victory in Game 3 on April 23. The win followed a war of words between the teams that was sparked by Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels calling out Nuggets players by name and labelling them as “bad defenders”.

The 25-year-old backed up his comments in Game 3 by scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

His next task will be to try and do it again.

“I take any matchup, whoever I’m guarding, personally,” McDaniels said. “It’s just a pride thing. I love to compete.”

Nuggets coach David Adelman wants to see his players battle a little harder on offence in Game 4.

“We talked about it after the game,” he said.

“Our physicality offensively has got to get better. We’ve got to screen better. We’ve got to cut better. We’ve got to handle the pressure much better than we did (in Game 3).”

Any resurgence from the Nuggets’ offence will need to start with Jokic.

The Serbian star is averaging 25.3 points per game in the series – tied with Jamal Murray for the team lead – but is shooting only 40 per cent overall and just 20.8 per cent from three-point range. In contrast, he shot 56.9 per cent overall and 38 per cent from beyond the arc during the regular season.

Adelman downplayed Jokic’s inconsistent results on offence, especially after Game 3 in which he went 7 of 26 from the field and made just 2 of 10 three-point attempts, despite 27 points and 15 rebounds.

“He just missed,” the coach said.

“I really mean it. I thought the threes were really good shots for the most part. The two-point shots as far as the face-up jumpers, getting to the rim, these are things that he’s going to do. He had a tough night, and it happens to players.

“This guy has played a million play-off games,” Adelman added. “There’s nights that are poor. I think he’ll bounce back. I think everybody just needs a day to understand that we did not play well offensively. So, a lot to improve on offensively, and a lot of stuff I think we can build on defensively.”

The Timberwolves are led by Anthony Edwards, who is averaging 23 points per game in the series but has also struggled to find his rhythm. He is shooting 39 per cent overall and 25 per cent from three-point range, compared to his regular-season shooting of 48.9 per cent overall and 39.9 per cent from beyond the arc.

Ayo Dosunmu will look to stay hot for Minnesota after coming off the bench to score 25 points in Game 3. He also had nine assists.

Meanwhile in play-off action on April 24, the Los Angeles Lakers, fuelled by 29 points from LeBron James, beat the Houston Rockets 112-108 in an overtime thriller to take a 3-0 stranglehold in their series.

No NBA team have come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a play-off series.

“Just trying to seize the opportunity,” James, who added 13 rebounds, six assists and three steals, told broadcaster Prime. “My guys trust me to try to make plays and I’m blessed to be able to do it.”

The Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 25 points apiece to lead them to a hard-fought 108-100 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers for a 2-1 series lead.

Stephon Castle hit for 33 points and rookie reserve Dylan Harper added career bests of 27 points and 10 boards, as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 120-108 to also edge 2-1 ahead. REUTERS, AFP