The Nuggets got off to a solid start Thursday night during Game 3 in Los Angeles, building an early seven-point lead. However, the Clippers quickly swung the tide of momentum and built a lead they would never relinquish during a 23-2 run that spanned the end of the first quarter and start of the second, writes Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette.
Denver ultimately lost by a final score of 117-83, a humbling defeat for the 2023 NBA champions. The Nuggets now find themselves facing a 2-1 hole heading into Saturday’s Game 4.
“We got embarrassed today. It happens in the playoffs,” interim head coach David Adelman said. “(We’ve) been a part of it before, been a part of the other side of it. The bottom line is, it’s one game, and (if) we come back (in) Game 4, we do the right things, (we) give ourselves a chance.”
While forward Michael Porter Jr. was able to play 35 minutes Thursday, he was clearly struggling with the left shoulder injury he sustained late in Game 2, scoring just seven points on 2-of-9 shooting. After the game, 26-year-old said his shoulder issue is normally a four-to-five week injury and he felt very limited, estimating that his left shoulder was around 20-30 percent healthy, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, who reports that Porter suffered a Grade 2 sprain.
Porter said he played Thursday because he was told the injury wouldn’t get worse unless he sprained it again (Twitter link via Shelburne), but he was noncommittal about his chances of suiting up Saturday.
“If I can go out there and feel more confident that I can help the team, then I’m going to play,” Porter said, per Benedetto. “If it’s still in a place like it is today, and I don’t feel like I can help the team at all, there’s no point in trying to go out there.”
To make matters worse for a team that’s already thin on the depth chart, backup guard Russell Westbrook didn’t play in the second half after dealing with left foot inflammation during his eight first-half minutes.
According to Shelburne, Westbrook turned his left foot during pregame warmups and attempted to play through the injury before being pulled in the second quarter. Adelman didn’t have an update on the former MVP’s status after the game, Benedetto adds.