Will Barton heard the boos loud and clear — how could he not have?
After misfiring on his sixth 3 of the night, this one bouncing off the side of the backboard, they came from every corner of Pepsi Center. The jeers were directed at Barton, in part because of his offensive struggles in the Nuggets’ 114-105 victory over the Spurs, but also at a Denver team which trailed by double digits midway through the third quarter of a must-win Game 2.
“It doesn’t affect me, and I don’t think nothing of it. That comes with our job,” Barton told BSN Denver Thursday. “I wasn’t mad about it. You know what you sign up for when you’re at the highest level. Fans can do what they want. They can boo, they can cheer. My job is to go out there and just try to win.”
The Nuggets were victorious Tuesday, storming back from a 19-point third-quarter deficit to break the ice in their first-round playoff matchup with the Spurs. Denver rode Jamal Murray’s hot hand in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets’ starting point guard scored 21 of his 24 points on the night in the final period to even the series with San Antonio.
Barton watched the Nuggets’ comeback from the bench. He checked out of the game for good with 5:45 remaining in the third quarter after converting on just one of his 10 field goal attempts and made way for Malik Beasley, who along with Murray and the Nuggets’ other starters roared past the Spurs.
Barton, who through two playoff games is shooting 7-25 from the field and just 1-11 from 3, will remain in the Nuggets’ starting lineup for Game 3, according to Michael Malone, but it hasn’t been the opening act that Barton envisioned for the first playoff series where he’s garnered significant rotation minutes. Still, he’s taking solace that the Nuggets finally broke the ice in what is many on this roster’s first career playoff series.
“I’m fine. I’m not tripping as long as we’re winning,” Barton said. “If we lose and I have 40, I’m still going to be pissed off, so what is it doing for me? If we win, that’s all that matters, and I just try to be better game in and game out.”
After a breakout season in 2018, Barton re-upped with the Nuggets on a four-year, $54 million contract and moved into a full-time role in Denver’s starting lineup at the small forward spot. But a hip injury and subsequent surgery shelved Barton for more than three months, and the versatile forward hasn’t had the same offensive rhythm or explosion around the rim that he had before the injury since returning to the lineup on Jan. 12.
Denver is rallying around Barton, one of its locker room leaders and someone who many around the team view as the Nuggets’ pulse. After the boos reigned down on Barton in Game 2, both Malone and Nikola Jokic, unsolicited, came to his defense after the win, a gesture Barton said he appreciated and heard about through Nuggets head athletic trainer Dan Shimensky.
“I kind of want to say something: I didn’t like that the crowd and fans booed Thrill,” Jokic said after fielding his final question from reporters. “I think he did a lot of things for this team and this organization. He was injured. He’s finding his rhythm, so when he comes back he’s going to be the old Thrill. I just wanted to say that.”
To get back to his pre-injury self, Barton isn’t planning to add or subtract any ingredients from the basketball recipe he’s used to get to this point.
“If it’s open, shoot it. (The defense) knows I want to get to the rim anyway,” Barton said. “I want to get to the rim even when I’m making jumpers. That doesn’t really affect me. If you look at the last game, I actually tried to get to the rim first, so it’s not like I’m out there hunting jumpers. I’m taking the jumpers that are given to me. It’s not like I’m just coming down and just jacking 3s. I’m wide open. I have to make those shots. I don’t need to overthink it.’
Where Barton has made a positive impact in the series is on the defensive end of the floor where he’s teamed with Gary Harris to provide solid defense on Spurs leading scorer DeMar DeRozan. He’ll likely be matched up with DeRozan for portions of Game 3 Thursday.
“It’s hard to stop a player that’s going to get a lot of touches, a lot of ISOs, and he’s good. Give him credit,” Barton said. “He’s an All-Star. He’s always in attack mode, and he makes difficult shots so our mindset is to go in there and just make it as difficult as possible for him, knowing he’s going to make some. Just don’t get discouraged and try to keep him off the free-throw line.”
