Nuggets 3-pointers: Aaron Gordon steps up, Facu Campazzo enters rotation but Warriors offense too much for Denver

Preliminary ideas from the Nuggets’ 118-113 loss in Sport 3 to the Golden State Warriors within the first spherical of their Western Convention playoff sequence:

Gordon steps up. It seems that all that speak about Aaron Gordon’s lack of physicality lastly lit a spark underneath the Nuggets ahead. Gordon supplied Ball Area its greatest roar of the evening, halfway into the third quarter, with hammer dunks on consecutive possessions to provide Denver an 80-75 lead. His first bucket of the sport was on the receiving finish of a slick alley-oop from Monte Morris. Gordon’s last stat line: 18 factors on 53.8% capturing (7 of 13), 12 rebounds, 4 assists and one block. He bullied Golden State inside and cashed in his lone 3-point shot try. It’s about time that Gordon leveraged his 6-foot-8 and 235-pound body towards the Warriors, and particularly their small-ball lineup. However the place was this Gordon all sequence?

Hi there, Facu. Nuggets coach Michael Malone advised reporters in pregame that it was time for reserve level guard Facu Campazzo to make an impression on this sequence after sitting the primary two video games. Malone stated: “One factor I do know is that Facu goes to go on the market and make any person really feel him.” Campazzo checked in thrice, and true to kind, he pestered Steph Curry and Jordan Poole with cling-tight protection. However it did little to forestall Golden State from operating up an early double-digit lead. Campazzo completed the evening with no factors, no assists, no steals and one turnover over 3:59 of taking part in time. Credit score Malone for emptying the bench searching for a spark. However Campazzo’s presence received’t flip the sequence for Denver.

Purple-hot Warriors. Golden State’s all the time prolific offense reached new ranges of absurdity within the first half. The guests shot 67.5% from the sphere with solely 13 missed pictures coming into halftime: 27 of 40. In addition they linked on 57.1% of their makes an attempt past the arc: 12 of 21. The Warriors’ so-called “Dying Lineup” — Curry, Poole, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Inexperienced — didn’t go an explosive run to place it away (in contrast to the previous two video games). However that didn’t matter late within the fourth quarter when Denver’s offense went chilly and a driving Curry layup basically put the sport away. Few groups within the NBA are well-equipped defensively to decelerate Golden State. The Nuggets are nonetheless looking for solutions coming into a must-win Sport 4 on Sunday.