Nikola Jokic won his individual matchup against Draymond Green for nearly four quarters at Ball Arena.
But that narrative flipped with 34.7 seconds left in regulation.
The Nuggets dropped Game 3 to the Warriors on Thursday at Ball Arena, 118-113, to fall behind 3-0 in their first-round playoff series. Golden State clinched the victory when Green — while playing with five fouls — stripped Jokic as he tried to back through Green into the lane.
Draymond was fired up after getting the steal on Jokic 🔥
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT)
“On the first dribble, when he hit me, I thought I still had inside position. Then he took the second one and it was far away from his body,” Green said. “So, I’m already thinking right there: ‘If he takes one more dribble, I’m stabbing at it.’ I felt like my body was released enough from him to where I can get a reach-in, and if I don’t get it, I can still be in good position. … I just went for it and I was able to get my hand on it.”
Jokic gave credit where it was due.
“(Green) is a great player,” Jokic said. “He knows how to play with contact and he’s really aggressive.”
Call it a sour end to an otherwise brilliant Jokic performance. He scored a game-high 37 points on 63.6% shooting from the floor (14 of 22) with 18 rebounds and five assists. Jokic also converted his first made 3-pointer of the series.
“He got the better of me,” Green said. “He was incredible tonight. He finished around the rim, he finished floaters, he finished mid-range jump shots and he made threes. He did everything tonight. … As I always say, I just want to make him take tough shots. I think I did a poor job of that.”
The respect is mutual. Green led all players with 10 assists in his point-center role conducting Golden State’s dynamic offense.
“He’s their leader defensively and then maybe like a brain on offense,” Jokic said. “He’s finding the guys. He’s sending the screens.”
The Nuggets enter a must-win Game 4 on Sunday night at Ball Arena. Green explained his strategy for containing Jokic in order to advance.
“What I did well the first couple of games is that I made him score over me,” Green said. “I made him have to go through me.”
Jokic remains confident the Nuggets can still make a comeback despite the seemingly impossible odds of earning four consecutive wins against the high-powered Warriors. No team has successfully rallied from a 3-0 deficit in NBA playoff history.
“Itap not over,” Jokic said. “As long as we put in an effort like we did today, we’re going to be fine. They’re a great team. But we’ve shown ourselves we can play with them and it can be a really interesting game. Just continue to do that.”
