The Nuggets took a 111-109 lead on the Warriors, followed by a meltdown

What could have been.

With 3:20 to go in Game 3 vs. the Warriors, Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic made a dazzling spin move to the rim to give Denver a 111-109 lead and looking poised to make this a series.

Then a meltdown of epic proportions ensued.

Immediately after a timeout Andrew Wiggins made a three to give Golden State a 112-111 edge. That was followed by a Jokic miss and a brick from Steph Curry. Then something inexcusable happened.

Three Nuggets fell asleep, allowing the Warriors to get an offensive rebound and Jordan Poole a tough layup. It was the epitome of a missed opportunity and lazy defense essentially costing a team a game.

absolutely inexcusable bird-watching here by the Nuggets. Wiggins’ effort leads to second-chance rebound + massive Poole layup to put them up 3. remember this if Denver loses. pic.twitter.com/U6FWhGHYBV

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) April 22, 2022

The next couple of sequences weren’t any better.

Denver had a shot clock violation, an Aaron Gordon offensive foul, a Will Barton chuck from three-point land and no points to show for it after getting a couple of stops. With 40.8 seconds left Curry made a layup to put the Warriors up 116-111 and that was all she wrote. Draymond Green got a steal from Jokic for good measure to ice the game.

What if?

That’s all Nuggets fans will be thinking about late Thursday night and all day Friday and Saturday after the 118-113 loss. If Denver just does one or two fundamental things better down the stretch the series is now 2-1 and Sunday’s game is an all-time battle.

Instead, the Warriors are now up 3-0 and this thing is over. The Nuggets will likely get swept out of the playoffs for a second-straight year and be 0-8 in their last eight playoff games.

Sure, Denver is outmatched, but they had a great chance to win Game 3. It was a painful end to an already painful series.
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