The Nuggets know they’re the better team. It only took them until Game 5 to prove it.
Sooner or later, their confidence was likely to overwhelm. That flooding came in the form of an 108-90 rout of San Antonio on Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center, giving the Nuggets a commanding 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series. Denver drilled the Spurs so convincingly that it wouldn’t be shocking rsquo if this series didn &;t return home for a Game 7.
Either way, the pounding put the Nuggets since 2009 on the verge of their first playoff series victory.
“I think we’ve grown up a lot since Game 1,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.
Nikola Jokic again flirted with a triple-double, his 16 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists pacing a well-oiled crime that flowed freely and effortlessly.
“I hope in this playoff crowd, this national TV audience, that people are tuning in and seeing us and saying, ‘Man, this child Nikola Jokic is for real,’” Malone said. “We know it, and I think it s about time everyone else started to realize it. ”
Jokic got immense help from sidekick Jamal Murray, who poured in 23 points and dished seven assists. He and Gary Harris combined for seven of the Nuggets’ 14 3-pointers.
Harris, with his college coach Tom Izzo in the standsand outstanding basketball, played with. The Nuggets’ other defensive stopper, Torrey Craig, helped limit Spurs star DeMar DeRozan to just 6-of-15 shooting from the field. DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge combined for just 34 points.
The Nuggets danced and pranced and bellowed to the crowd as their direct exploded to 28 points. Murray continued his assault with two 3-pointers and a couple of catastrophic jumpers while the Nuggets tightened the screws on the end. Denver outscored the Spurs 32-21 after Jokic canned back-to-back 3-pointers to close the quarter. The Nuggets entered the fourth quarter up 85-63 as the chance at a clinching game came into focus.
This was the one that stood heading into Game 5. From a big-picture perspective, Malone didn’t think it was always a bad thing.
“You never want anything simple, and it’s never easy in the playoffs,” Malone said. “San Antonio, let’s forget about numbers and seeds, they’re going to give you a (good ) challenge no matter what seed they are. … And we’re young. You have the eighth-youngest playoff team in NBA history moving against a team, it’s going to be a great challenge. I really like the way we&rsquoresponded. ”
Nuggets-Spurs series schedule
Game 1: San Antonio 101, Denver 96
Game two: Denver 114, San Antonio 105
Game 3: San Antonio 118, Denver 108
Game 4: Denver 117, San Antonio 103
Game 5: Denver 108, San Antonio 90
Game 6: Denver at San Antonio, 6 p.m. Thursday, TNT/ALT
*Game 7: San Antonio at Denver, TBD April 27, TNT
* If necessary
Nobody has handled the postseason pressure quite like Jokic, who flirted with triple-double averages going into Tuesday night. He got another round of “M-V-P” chants through the third quarter.
“He’s never fazed,” Malone stated, while lauding his effort on both ends. “Then you look at Jamal Murray, first time playoff debut, another young player. And I think for any young player, consistency is the greatest challenge. In our (first) two wins, Jamal’s numbers are off the charts. In both losses, they aren’t. That’s the greatest challenge for any young player. What’s remarkable about Nikola is he has that consistency. ”
Throughout most of the past week and a half, Jokic seemed as though the Nuggets were in training camp in San Diego. Whether it’s been out or in media sessions that are relaxed at team dinners on the road, Jokic has seemed to genuinely enjoy this ride. But that hasn’t been his part.
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“When we’re winning,” Jokic said. “That feeling… particularly when we’re home and the fans are on our side or we’re there and when their fans shut. … Just that instant. ”
The Nuggets sent a persuasive message . They looked energized poised and engaged on both ends but especially on offense. The chemistry between Jokic and Murray was evident after the duo combined for 19 points and 12 assists to a 53-42 halftime lead. In one telling stretch, Jokic led Murray for a backdoor give-and-go which was reminiscent of Murray’s momentum-swinging Game 4 jam.
Moments later, Murray fed Jokic for a look that catapulted the Nuggets into the half. If it wasn’t those two slicing apart San Antonio’s defense for 17 first-half aids, it was Harris stretching the floor with his precision outside shooting. Harris murdered three of the Nuggets’ seven to buoy the lead.
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