Recap: The Denver Nuggets forget how to defend Derrick White and give up the third game against the San Antonio Spurs 118-108.

The Denver Nuggets were looking to get home advantage in their series against the San Antonio Spurs by doing something they had not done in their previous 13 tries: winning at San Antonio. Despite another strong performance by Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets finally being able to score three points and be excellent on the bench, the setbacks of Denver on the wings with starters Jamal Murray and Will Barton were again present. Meanwhile, they let Derrick White and DeMar DeRozan dominate the game throughout the match and eventually collapsed in the end, which led to their 14th consecutive defeat in the Spurs home. The Nuggets have to face victory for the fourth game after losing the contest tonight 118-108

The game was a back and forth from the door, the Nuggets once again got a powerful effort from Paul Millsap of the Jump. On the Spurs side, Derrick White was extremely efficient at first, Murray could not stay in front of him during the ride and did not deny White's right hand, which was clearly the direction he wanted to take. The teams fought until a 16-16 draw, but the match turned in favor of San Antonio. They snatched a 9-0 run behind White and LaMarcus Aldridge. At the end of the quarter, the Nuggets are still struggling to find their attack. The bench was a bit successful, but the Spurs made a concerted effort to paint. When this did not translate into easy baskets, it usually resulted in turns on the free throw line where, unlike the Nuggets they converted. After all, they had 15-6 points to close the quarter and led by nine.

The Nuggets found their rhythm coming off the grid in the second quarter. Malik Beasley picked up where he stopped during the second half and started shooting down the jumpers while Mason Plumlee got his hands on it. For the first time in this series, the Nuggets bench looked much more like the dominant unit than their counterparts in Spur. Torrey Craig brought a ton of energy and was aggressive to the rim, whether it was when he had the ball or when he was hitting for offensive rebounds. The Spurs were cold, they did not score a point for more than three minutes before Jakob Poetl finally got some free throws. The Nuggets extended the race 28-9 to recover the lead and bring it back to double digits. The Spurs would not leave, however. White played exceptionally and exploited the ones the Nuggets put on him. Behind his game and a sudden comeback in the Nuggets, pulling out of trouble after the first game, the Spurs fought in a 13-2 run and took over the advantage. Denver pushed back with his starters but White killed them absolutely, which led to a back-and-forth affair as half came to an end. Natural cherry at the top, White stole the ball in the last 30 seconds for a quick break and gave San Antonio a 3-point lead at the break.

The Nuggets opened the second period with a three Jokic and eventually sought to deny White his right hand. Unfortunately, DeMar DeRozan heated up and carried the offensive charge. The Spurs scored 7-0 behind his game and coach Michael Malone was forced to cancel the match. It did not help much. The Nuggets had Harris on White holding him back but that just pushed DeRozan to play instead and at the other end, their game was sloppy. While the starters of the Nuggets were beaten, their bench and Jokic kept them in the game. Nikola became aggressive and started to make a statement in the painting, which earned him six points in a row. Denver tightened ahead but the Spurs were still leading in the final minutes of the quarter. Monte Morris brilliantly performed the 2 in 1, getting a brace with 30 seconds to go in the third, but DeRozan and a powerful home whistle brought him to the line where he went 1-2, but has got his own offensive rebound. He slammed three shots, but the Nuggets went into the fourth quarter, trailing for the third time in a row.

The Nuggets kept up the pressure to start the fourth inning, but the whistle was very favorable to San Antonio. Malik Beasley played the Nuggets well, but the Spurs gradually moved up to ten points early in the fourth quarter. Coach Malone called the end of the match but it did not work, San Antonio continuing to strengthen his lead as the Nuggets became visibly frustrated by the refereeing. In mid-quarter, the Spurs scored 14-2 and extended their lead to sixteen. The Whites restarted their shots and the game was quickly out of reach. After a stoppage in Denver, the Spurs retrieved the ball, Murray lost White again, which led to an easy shot and a Malone rage. San Antonio got up at twenty and that was all but garbage time. Both coaches began checking into the reserves four minutes from the end. Beasley and Craig eliminated three players to make things better, but San Antonio closed the game to take a 2-1 lead with a win of 118-108.

Main Match: Derrick White vs. Jamal Murray

Soobum Im-USA TODAY & # 39; HUI Sports

Usually, I try to pick a match where two guys play well, but that's not the case. Still, it was definitely the key match, Murray being totally unable to do anything to stop White. Likewise, he returned to the form we saw of him for 11 of the 12 quarters of the series and was a major drawback on the ground. Make no mistake, the Nuggets do not win this show with Murray playing that way. Similarly, they do not win this series if they can not stop the dribbling penetration of guys like White and DeRozan.

The main thing I noticed: bad refereeing, worst free throw shot

Look, I'm not one to blame the referees and that's certainly not the reason why the Nuggets lost the match, but San Antonio had 32 free-throw attempts against the Nuggets 17. In part, the Spurs were more aggressive towards the hoop but part should be attributed to a whistle at home, which, honestly, is to be expected in a series of 1-1 in match 3. It seemed that after DeRozan got the T & # 39; d in the first half to be complaining the way the game was officiated totally changed. Suddenly, every time Denver touched San Antonio on an alley, it was a mistake, but all the Nuggets' alley was either a phone call or a foul on the floor. The Nuggets were also their worst enemy, drawing only 53% of the line. If you do not get a ton of calls, you must absolutely convert the opportunities you have and Denver has not done so much tonight, which has been a theme throughout this series.

Final thought: here we go again

Entering game 4 of the first series 2-1 is a nightmare story for fans of the Nuggets 10 years of the playoffs of the 2000s. Over these ten years, they found themselves 7 times in this scenario. They went 0-7. Going down 3-1 is almost a death sentence in the NBA playoffs (as we all know, the Nuggets have lost all seven series in this series and have only overtaken Game 6 one time). It will be an absolute victory for Denver. The Nuggets have not yet dominated a match, but if they ever needed it, it would be game 4. Some adjustments are probably needed and it is now time for Coach Malone to seriously consider making changes to the composition. departure. The Nuggets can not afford to dig a hole for the fourth game in a row.