Like he has done countless times this series, Donovan Mitchell sized up Paul Millsap at the three-point line, took one dribble between his legs and fired another open jump shot.
Of course it went in.
“I want this shit!”
“I want this shit!”
“I want this shit!”
Mitchell shouted the phrase three times as his fourth three-pointer of the night put the Jazz up 122-118 with 54 seconds remaining.
If the sequence that led to Mitchell’s final three in the Jazz’s 129-127 Game 4 win sounded familiar it’s because it was. Mitchell’s ability to do whatever he’s wanted against whatever defender or defense that the Nuggets have thrown his way has been and will be the prevailing storyline to emerge from Denver and Utah’s first-round series.
“I love hearing negative things (said) about me,” Mitchell said of what has helped him take his game to another level these playoffs. “The knock on me has been inefficient, not a team player, whatever it is. I pride myself on being a team player, on being a playmaker.”
How’s this for efficient?
Mitchell had 51 points in Game 4, his second 50-spot in a series where he’s shooting an absurd 49-87 (56.3%) from the floor and 18-35 (51.4%) from three. When Denver did play respectable defense on Mitchell Sunday, the Nuggets bailed him out by fouling. Mitchell went 17-18 from the line in Game 4 while as a team, the Nuggets only shot 13 free-throws. In the series, Mitchell is 42-44 from the charity stripe. Denver, meanwhile, has shot a total 65 free-throws in four games and made 54.
Despite another commanding game from Mitchell, the Nuggets were still alive late in the fourth. It was mostly thanks to Jamal Murray, who finished with a career-high 51 points to go with 11 rebounds (four offensive), seven assists and zero turnovers in 43 minutes.
Murray never had an opportunity to close the deal. Trailing 113-111 with 2:34 remaining in regulation, Denver needed just one stop to give Murray a chance to shoot for the lead. After a step-back three with 1:34 left that cut Utah’s lead to one, Murray tried to drive that message home.
“One stop!” Murray yelled.
The Nuggets never got it. Utah, no, scratch that. Mitchell scored on five-straight possessions to clinch Game 4 before Denver started fouling.
Jazz lead 113-111 with 2:34 left: Mitchell pull-up jump shot.
Jazz lead 115-113 with 1:43 left: Mitchell makes two free-throws
Jazz lead 117-116 with 1:34 left: Mitchell layup
Jazz lead 119-118 with :54 left: Mitchell three-pointer
Jazz lead 122-120 with :51 left: Mitchell free-throws
The Nuggets at least showed up in Game 4, something they didn’t do in Games 2 and 3 where Denver lost by a combined 56 points. Michael Malone swapped Monte Morris and Jerami Grant for Torrey Craig and Michael Porter Jr. in his starting lineup and the adjustment paid off. The Nuggets outscored the Jazz 36-33 in the first quarter and led 65-64 at the half. Neither team could stop one another the entire night.
Statistically, the Nuggets have been by far the worst defense in the playoffs. Through four games, Denver’s allowing an average of 131.1 points per 100 possessions. The Brooklyn Nets have the second-worst playoff defense but surrender 122.9 points per 100 possessions.
The defensive slide the Nuggets have experienced in the bubble is in line with a season-long downward trend. The Nuggets had the NBA’s best defense over their first 19 games of the season, but from Jan. 1 through March 11 when the season was suspended, the Nuggets’ defense ranked 19th. Then, once the Nuggets arrived in Disney World, the bottom fell out.
Denver had the last-ranked defense in the bubble during the seeding round, and the Nuggets’ inability to stop a dynamic Jazz pick-and-roll, drive-and-kick attack — the same actions that routinely gave Denver the most trouble throughout the regular season — hasn’t been too surprising.
Not having starting shooting guard Gary Harris and small forward Will Barton this series has been costly. Harris was Denver’s best perimeter defender this season and Barton had been a much improved defensive presence. Whenever Porter finds himself on an island trying to corral Mitchell, Mike Conley or other Jazz ball handlers on drives to the basket, the Nuggets are reminded how much they’re missing Harris and Barton’s experience.
“They made shots. We made shots,” Murray said. “We just didn’t get enough stops.”
The Nuggets aren’t dead yet. Eleven teams in NBA history have come back from 3-1 deficits to win a series. The last team to do it was the Cleveland Cavaliers, who accomplished the feat in the 2016 NBA Finals.
It doesn’t seem likely that the Nuggets will be the 12th. Based on Denver’s defensive numbers this series, the best hope the Nuggets have in stopping Utah is praying for the Jazz to miss open shots. Those prayers were answered in the Nuggets’ Game 1 win when the Jazz shot only 16-47 (34%) from three. In Game 2, 3 and 4, Utah has been easily over 40% from beyond the arc. The Nuggets needed 21 fourth-quarter points from Murray to lose narrowly Sunday.
“There’s a lot of fight in us left,” Murray said.
There’s no doubt that Murray will go down swinging. His courageous performance in Game 4 came just over a week after his 36 points led the Nuggets to a come-from-behind overtime win in Game 1. Of course, in between those two breakout games were two duds — 14 points on 6-13 shooting in Game 2 and 12 points on 5-12 shooting in Denver’s Game 3 debacle — and inconsistent play is still the biggest black mark on Murray’s resume.
The passion and emotion he played with Sunday was on display late in the fourth quarter when Murray was rightfully ticked off about a no-call on a drive to the rim with 24 seconds remaining and the Nuggets trailing 124-120. Replays showed that Rudy Gobert made contact with Murray’s arm and that a foul should have been whistled.
“I’m not going to speak on it,” Murray said. “I don’t want to get fined.”
Through four games, the Jazz have out-executed and handily out-played the Nuggets. Mitchell has bested Murray and Gobert has won his matchup against Jokic. Denver’s big man was able to turn in a strong 29-point (12-24 FG’s, 3-10 3FG’s), seven-rebound, six-assist showing in Game 4.
Denver has roared back from series deficits before. The Nuggets trailed the Spurs 2-1 in the first round of last year’s playoffs before winning in San Antonio for the first time since 2012 to retake control of the series in Game 4. Denver went on to win the series in seven games.
Trailing 3-1 is a different story. The Nuggets now have to beat Mitchell three-straight times.
“We’ve got to regroup,” Malone said. “The series is not over.”
But it is, unless the Nuggets somehow find the defensive game plan against Mitchell and the Jazz that’s eluded them this entire series.
