Nuggets players and George Karl were still feeling the hangover of Saturday’s disappointing 97-94 Game 3 loss to Oklahoma City as they returned to the Pepsi Center for a team meeting and film session Sunday morning.
The Nuggets had a chance to tie the game at the end of the fourth quarter, but a well-guarded J.R. Smith air-balled a three-point shot as time expired. Oklahoma City now has a 3-0 lead in the series, with Monday’s Game 4 serving now as an elimination game for the Nuggets. No NBA team has ever rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a 7-game playoff series.
“It’s going to be a hard day,” Karl said Sunday afternoon. “Hopefully with Easter, family and friends, we can get away from it for a little bit and come back tomorrow and be desperate and intense.”
Karl, as he did Saturday night, declined to comment on if he thought Thunder defender James Harden fouled Smith on the final three-point attempt.
With only one day off to prepare for Game 4, Nuggets players were already looking ahead to try to figure out how to beat a Thunder team that has now beat the Nuggets in five games this month dating back to the regular season.
“We need a win. I’ve been part of that on a bigger stage with another team celebrating on your home court. It’s not a good feeling by any stretch of the imagination,” captain Kenyon Martin said. “So we need the win, bottom line. There’s no other way to put it. We got to get a win, bottom line. We got to put all our energy and focus into being better tomorrow.”
Karl told his players a story Sunday about the 1996 NBA Finals, when he was coaching a Seattle Supersonics team that trailed 3-0 to the Bulls. Karl remembered Chicago putting on a dress rehearsal for the trophy presentation at Seattle’s arena, and his team used that as motivation. The Sonics won the next two games, though the Bulls ultimately won the title back in Chicago.
Karl said Sunday he didn’t know if his team would be able to be the first ever to come back from the 3-0 hole, but said he was confident that they would try.
“What we’re learning is we have to play hard with tremendous intensity,” Karl said. “That’s the first challenge in any playoff game, and we can, we’re capable of, and we will, play better than we have all playoff series tomorrow night.”
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com
