The Denver Nuggets left Colorado with their series against the Clippers tied 1-1 ahead of the first-ever playoff game at Intuit Dome. Denver could've flipped home-court advantage back to its side with a win on Thursday, but didn't come close to doing so.
Los Angeles cruised to a 117-83 win over Denver. The Nuggets had no response to the Clippers' 23-2 run that spread across the first and second quarters. Denver didn't have a response to anything LA did. The Nuggets played with zero fire, which is concerning, considering this is the time of year when teams are supposed to up their intensity.
Denver can't dwell on the loss, with a quick turnaround before Game 4 on Saturday at 4 p.m. MT. It's not ideal. Christian Braun agrees, but for a different reason. He said on Thursday that he wishes Game 4 would come sooner.
"I wish it was faster. I don't want to think about this one anymore," Nuggets forward Christian Braun said after the game. "We'll be ready. We just got punched in the mouth and you have to respond. You can't roll over. You can't complain. Like I said, I wish the game was earlier. I wish we could respond earlier."
Christian Braun eager to play Game 4 after embarrassing loss
Braun's mindset is the right one, but he'll need to make sure that his and his teammates' actions match his words. Game 4 isn't technically a must-win game, but the Nuggets need to view it that way because Game 5 could be win-or-stay-home for Denver.
The Clippers took Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray out of Game 3 with their game plan, making it even more painfully evident that the Nuggets need shooting. It didn't help that Michael Porter Jr. is dealing with a shoulder injury that he wouldn't play through if it weren't the postseason. Russell Westbrook (who LA will happily leave open) left the game in the second quarter with a foot injury.
It'd help if Braun stepped up and knocked down a few big shots. He's scored a combined 14 points in Denver's last two losses (five in Game 2 and nine in Game 3), shooting 6-of-16 from the field and 0-of-3 from three. He's shooting 1-of-7 from deep in the playoffs (14.3%). Braun shot 39.7% from three in the regular season on an average of 2.8 attempts per game.
Braun could live up to his words by being the X-Factor in Game 4 on both ends of the floor. The Nuggets will need more than a big game from Braun to tie the series at 2-2, though. Will Denver be able to punch back?