Is the Utah Jazz getting their hands on the play-off series against the Denver Nuggets? After largely dominating the second half of match 2, the Jazz proved intractable in a match 3 bent back from the locker room (69-48 in the 28th, 124-87 final score) and took the advantage two wins to one.
The tone was set from the start by an omnipresent Rudy Gobert. Limited to seven rebounds in the first two matches, the French pivot equaled this total after only eleven minutes of play. But the best defender of the year was not satisfied with that. Playing the pick-and-roll to perfection, placing himself ideally behind the defenders of the passive Nuggets, Gobert already had twelve points at the end of the first quarter. Even though he didn’t play the last quarter, he set a new personal best in play-off points (24), adding 14 catches under the baskets and one interception.
Another performance noted on the Jazz side, that of Mike Conley just out of quarantine after going to attend the birth of his child. The leader had an exceptional 7 of 8 three-pointers and finished the game with 27 points. Donovan Mitchell was not left with 20 points and a spectacular dunk to end the night of the incumbents of jazz (90-60, 37th). Collectively, Quin Snyder’s formation seems to have found the right formula to score against Denver after registering 125 points (with overtime) in the first game and 124 in the next two.
Michael Malone displayed a worried face on the Nuggets bench, not knowing what to do to provoke a real reaction from his team as clumsy ball in hand (17 losses) as lost in defense. Jamal Murray could not adjust the sights (5 of 16 shooting) and Nikola Jokic was often passive (15 points) despite some nice shots at mid-distance or from distance.
37
This correction of 37 points equals the third biggest loss in the history of the Nuggets in the play-offs. The worst (44) dates back to 1985 against the Los Angeles Lakers (153-109).
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