MINNEAPOLIS \u2013 There\u2019s no more space between the Nuggets and the brink.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe put ourselves in a really bad spot,\u201d Christian Braun acknowledged Saturday after the Nuggets took the last step back before the edge that ends their season. \u201cAll you can do is fix it. The spot we\u2019re in is not where we wanted to be. We\u2019ve got to change it. We\u2019ve got to go get one at home, come back here, and I think things will tighten up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Braun hasn\u2019t been part of a 3-1 comeback, but Denver\u2019s two most important players have done it before. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray led the charge as the Nuggets became the first two to win consecutive series after losing three of the first four games back in the 2020 bubble. The first came against the Jazz back when Rudy Gobert was anchoring Utah\u2019s defense. The second came against the Clippers when a scuffle seemingly shifted the momentum in Denver\u2019s favor. Gobert is again Jokic\u2019s foe this time around, and the Timberwolves might\u2019ve finally awakened the beast, who ranked his play through four games as \u201caverage\u201d after Jaden McDaniels rubbed the Nuggets\u2019 nose in defeat with a bucket in the final seconds that set off a brief skirmish.<\/p>\n
Things are a little different now, as the Nuggets will have to win a true road game to get this one to a decisive Game 7, but that\u2019s getting too far ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been in this situation before. The most important one is the next one,\u201d Jokic said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to go home and (then) try to get the series back here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nuggets coach David Adelman was more concerned with his team\u2019s uncharacteristic offensive output than a lack of fight in Game 4. Denver failed to score 100 points in consecutive games for the first time this season. The Timberwolves finished Game 4 with 112 points after McDaniels\u2019 immaterial layup. Despite McDaniels\u2019 claims that a handful of Denver\u2019s key rotation players are bad defenders, including Jokic and Murray, after Game 2, that hasn\u2019t been Denver\u2019s downfall yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou hold a team to 112 in the NBA, you should have a great chance to win the game,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cIt\u2019s happened two games in a row. That\u2019s why the guys in the locker room are very frustrated but very understanding of how close we are to flipping the series.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Nuggets have to walk the tightrope along the edge for three more games. With one more loss, Denver will exit in the first round for the first time since the Warriors defeated Denver in the first round of the 2022 playoffs. Braun was a Jayhawk back then, but he\u2019s not in Kansas anymore.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just got to show up Game 5, play well in front of our crowd. We owe that to them to show up and play well. We\u2019re going to do that,\u201d Braun said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not over, and that\u2019s all that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
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