The Nuggets valiantly fought until the end but find themselves in a 3-0 hole after suffering a 116-102 defeat to the Phoenix Suns at Ball Arena.
With Nikola Jokić receiving his Most Valuable Player award in front of a packed house, Denver’s homecourt was rocking from the opening tip. Unfortunately, the Nuggets weren’t able to capitalize as they trailed for most of the contest against a hungry Suns team.
Jokić would continue his heroics despite the loss, finishing with an incredible triple-double of 32 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists. Phoenix was led by Devin Booker, who had 28 points, six rebounds, four assists.
Denver will now need to tap into what made it so successful during last season’s playoffs: Defying the odds. No NBA team has won a series after falling to a 3-0 hole. However, the same was said about the Nuggets last season when it fell behind 3-1 in two consecutive playoff series. The team managed to prevail and reach the Western Conference semifinals. Nuggets fans will be hoping for more history Sunday in Game 4 (6 p.m. MT, TNT).
Here are the takeaways:
A ceremony to remember
A capacity crowd got to see history as Nikola Jokić raise the first-ever MVP trophy in franchise history. That alone was worth the price of admission as Ball Arena was electric as they celebrated their star being crowned the league’s best player.
The Nuggets have had several iconic stars in its 54-year history as they’ve seen players like David Thompson, Alex English, Dikembe Mutombo, and Carmelo Anthony grace the Mile High City. The team finally has an MVP and one who is just entering his peak at 26.
Despite the result, Jokić once again showcased why he was deserving of the award. The center had a historic triple-double in the loss.
Second-half struggles remain
If the Nuggets want to avoid a sweep and make this a series again, they will need to address their ongoing issues in the second half.
Prior to Game 3, Denver was allowing Phoenix to score 68 points in the second half of the first two games in the semifinals. That is last among teams in the playoffs. That continued Friday night as the Suns dropped another 57 in the final 24 minutes of action. It is one thing if the Nuggets were outmatched from opening tip, but they’ve shown they can keep pace with the Suns in the first half throughout the series.
Denver trailed by just four points in Game 3 at the break. They would lose by 14.
Need to improve in transition
There were several reasons why Denver wasn’t able to secure a much-needed win in Game 3. The team’s offense and ball movement continued to struggle as it shot 41.1 percent overall and had just 20 assists.
Yet, if there has been an area where the Nuggets need to correct, it’s transition points. In Games 1 and 2, Denver gave up 15 points per game off turnovers. On Friday, the team gave up 18 points off turnovers. That’s despite having just 12, which around its season average. Denver’s inability to guard after giveaways is fueling Phoenix’s break. The Suns had 12 fast break points to Denver’s two. With the Suns being an elite defensive team, the Nuggets can ill-afford to give away points. They have to be the aggressors and create easy buckets in Game 4.