When the massacre was over, the Nuggets escaped the hostile home crowd into the arena tunnel and entered the locker room, where, during halftime, they had left behind their pride.
In the Nuggets’ 105-93 Game 3 loss Friday at Utah, Denver’s third quarter was abysmally abysmal. The Jazz outscored the visitors 32-20, as the Nuggets shot just 5-for-15 from the field. Nobody’s had as bad a quarter since CitiBank.
“What I’m most disappointed at is the way we failed to compete tonight as a team,” Carmelo Anthony said. “They made a run and we just started looking back from there.
“But as far as our effort, I’m highly disappointed in that.”
As one Nuggets fan painfully tweeted during the third quarter: “Was the defensive gameplan to leave shooters wide open? If so, they’re executing.”
What was the worst moment of the third?
J.R. Smith’s baseline airball?
Carlos Boozer grabbing an offensive rebound literally over Chris Andersen?
Or Carmelo Anthony’s left forearm to Wesley Matthews’ chest, which gave Melo five fouls with 1:05 left in the third?
It was all tough to watch.
This, of course, was the toughest loss of the season. The Nuggets led by as many as 11 and needed the win to reset the series. Now the team that began the series with homecourt advantage has nothing of the sort. Down 2-1 in the series, there are (potentially) four games left, and the Nuggets need to win three — and two of the four are in Utah.
“X’s and O’s gotta go out the window,” Anthony said. “We just need to fight from here.”
Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups went into halftime with a team-high 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting. But he missed all four shot attempts in the pivitol third quarter and finished 7-for-14 with 25 points and — most-telling of all, more rebounds (five) than assists (three).
The Nuggets know the “assist” stat. Told of it almost daily, they might as well tattoo it to their well-inked bodies. In the regular reason, the Nuggets were 42-7 when it had 20 or more assists. Well, in Game 2, the Nuggets had 12.
And remember the big deal made about Mehmet Okur’s Game 1 injury? How Denver’s low post would have a huge advantage in the series?
On Friday, Kenyon Martin had two points and 13 boards, while Nene finished with eight and five in 37 minutes. How was Nene’s counterpart, the never-heard-of-him Kyrylo Fesenko? He had nine points and five rebounds in just 23 minutes.
Before the game, Denver’s acting coach Adrian Dantley said he didn’t mind other Jazz players getting a lot of shots, as long as their names weren’t Deron or Carlos (in other words, let C.J. Miles beat you, because odds are C.J. Miles can’t beat you in three playoff games). Good strategy, yes, but goodness gracious, Paul Millsap looked good on Friday. The reserve post had 18 points by halftime — on 9-for-9 shooting — and he finished with an eye-popping 22 points and 19 rebounds.
As for Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, well, they played pretty well, too, pacing the way for the wounded Jazz, down two players but up a whole bunch of heart.
In the one-team town that is Salt Lake City, the fans have a fervent passion for their Jazz, almost obsessive. In the days leading up to Game 3, they expressed displeasure of Denver’s flop allegations via a barrage of blogs, e-mails and tweets. And Carmelo Anthony’s Nike ad, which made reference to ‘Melo’s fans in Utah,’ riled up the locals, too. They booed him basically every time he touched the Splading.
Energy Solutions Arena was, well, energized all night, fans screaming from the front row all the way up to the Adrian Dantley banner in the rafters.
Live updates
The Denver Post had live updates throughout the night:
Point production
Chauncey Billups entered halftime leading the Nuggets with 15 points, shooting 6-of-8 from the field. With four minutes remaining in the game, he is 6-for-13 and 22 points. He has yet to score a field goal in the second half.
He eventually score from the floor and has a co-team high 25 points, shared with Carmelo Anthony.
Slide continues
The Jazz have not let up, and halfway through the fourth quarter they led 100-77 over Denver.
Utah is spreading out its points. Deron Williams and Paul Millsap have 22 points apiece, but three more are in double-figures and one has nine.
The Nuggets, on the other hand, have 22 points from Chauncey Billups, 20 from Carmelo Anthony and no other player above eight points.
Uh-oh
The wheels have fallen off the ride for the Nuggets in Utah. They trailed by as many as 18 points in the third quarter and enter the fourth with Utah ahead 84-68.
Foul trouble
Carmelo Anthony picked up his fourth foul with 2:25 remaining in the third quarter, but he stayed in the game. Just more than a minute later, he was whistled for an offensive foul giving him five on the night. Denver trails 80-63.
Two is it
Subtract Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups, and the three other Nuggets’ starters are a combined 3 for 11 from the field. Anthony and Billups are 15 for 29.
Bench sturdy
Utah’s bench is outscoring the Nuggets’ reserves 23-9 through two and a half quarters.
Utah running
The Jazz opened the third quarter on an 8-2 run and are outscoring the Nuggets 14-8 in the second half. They took their biggest lead of the game, 66-56, before Denver called timeout.
Sharing the shots
A look at the halftime numbers, and the Jazz are passing the ball with 17 assists on their 22-of-45 shooting. Utah had 12 assists in the second quarter and shot 14-of-20 from the field.
The Nuggets have seven assists and six turnovers.
Denver is 18-of-39 from the field, had another six rebounds in the second quarter for 24 at the break.
Man on Millsap?
Utah forward Paul Millsap has made his first nine shots for 18 points by halftime. The Jazz rallied in the second quarter and have a 52-48 lead.
Millsap made eight shots in the second quarter. He also has a team-high eight rebounds at the break.
Who’s that?
For the first time in the series, Nuggets guard Anthony Carter has checked into the game midway through the second quarter.
With Ty Lawson playing so much, Carter has not been in at all against the Jazz. Wicked pass by AC to Carmelo Anthony under the basket.
Utah cold in first quarter
The Jazz were just 8-of-25 in the first half as the Nuggets ran to the lead maintained a 27-21 lead after the first quarter.
Denver is 9-of-22, but more impressively has 18 rebounds and two blocked shots. Kenyon Martin as six rebounds, but is 0-of-4 shooting.
Chauncey has the look
Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups has 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including a 3-pointer, as the Nuggets have a 20-14 lead at the first break with 4:38 left in the first quarter.
And Kenyon Martin is cleaning up the defensive paint with four rebounds.
Advantage, homecourt
Utah’s Energy Solutions Arena (made famous as the Delta Center), is arguably the loudest arena in pro basketball. The seats seem right on top of the court. It’s the NBA’s Cameron Indoor.
Utah fans are notoriously rabid, and the Jazz has thrived in Utah. The Jazz entered Friday an incredible 81-33 in home playoff games (28-80 on the road).
Before the game, Denver acting coach Adrian Dantley talked about the city he once played for.
“Just great fans here, I love the fans here,” said Dantley, who won two scoring titles while playing for Utah. “They supported me while I was here. They can get a little hostile. Our guys have to keep their composure.”
Nuggets looking to pounce on other guys
The Nuggets will take their chances tonight with players not named Deron Williams or Carlos Boozer.
“I mean, if we can take the ball out of their two best players’ hands, I think we will have done our job,” Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony said.
“If Miles makes shots, if (Kyrylo) Fasenko makes shots, we want that to happen. But if Deron Williams keep beating us like they did in Game 2, then we’ll have a long series.”
