If one can be dismissed, two is a trend and three is a habit, the Nuggets are in deep trouble on defense.
For the third straight game, the Nuggets failed to lock down in any phase on defense. The troubling part is not only have the Nuggets made struggling on that end of the court a habit, but it can’t be confined to just one or two specific areas. It’s a problem all over the court.
Guarding Deron Williams was the flashpoint issue for the Nuggets’ defense this week. There was supposed to be improvement there. It didn’t happen.
“I wasn’t going to force things,” Williams said. “I let the game come to me. I found my teammates.”
The Utah guard scored seemingly at will, forcing Arron Afflalo to commit multiple fouls and scoring over Ty Lawson. He didn’t score 30 points Friday night, but he didn’t need to.
The Nuggets had trouble guarding the pick-and-roll, stopping players in one-on-one situations and staying close to Jazz shooters off curls. Many times, the Nuggets were lost on rotations, and when the Jazz swung the ball around the perimeter, defenders usually were nowhere to be found on the second pass, which left shooters wide open.
Then there was transition defense. It has regularly been a problem for the Nuggets this season but wasn’t too bad Friday night — except in turnover situations. The turnovers came fast and furious in the second half.
“I won’t say too much before I see the tape,” Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups said, “but a lot of times defense is about effort. And we have to do that for 48 minutes.”
Jazz role players played well. Wesley Matthews, who scored a combined 13 points in the first two games of the series, scored early. He hit three 3-pointers and scored 14 points, and he has improved in each of his first three playoff games as a pro.
Paul Millsap was big in the post, and some of his effectiveness was allowed by Nuggets defenders who played off of him. Kenyon Martin dared Millsap to make jump shots in the second quarter, and the Jazz forward was up to the challenge on numerous occasions.
Then the burly forward muscled Chris Andersen in the paint and finished over — and got around — the shot-blocker on a regular basis. Kyrylo Fesenko added some much-needed points in the paint, and Utah finished with 44.
Utah’s bench players scored 30 points, led by Millsap’s 22. The Jazz shot 47 percent, and 38.9 from 3-point range. Five players were in double figures. Williams picked his spots and got in the lane, particularly in the third quarter. Traps didn’t work against him.
“Millsap got going and that was big for them,” Denver forward Carmelo Anthony said. “And then when we made the adjustment to Millsap, Boozer and Williams went off.”
When the Nuggets did force a miss, the Jazz often got the offensive rebound. Utah had 10 of those and turned them into 10 second- chance points.
There wasn’t any way Utah could be stopped in Game 3, and it was just an extension of what’s occurred each night in this series.
And for the third time, the Nuggets gave up more than 100 points in a series that is quickly slipping from their grasp.
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
