Nuggets 3-pointers: Michael Porter Jr. plays hurt and its shows as Denver fades in L.A.

Initial thoughts from the Nuggets Match loss to the Clippers Thursday night at the Intuit Dome in the Western Conference playoffs Out of it at Intuit The Clippers and their crowd displayed megawatts of capacity The Nuggets Except for a hot start they didn t show enough juice to illuminate a light bulb And to think Nuggets interim coach David Adelman had the temerity to take the Clippers to task before Thursday night s challenge at the Intuit Dome It s like a high school crowd which is indeed really cool Adelman reported But he didn t stop while he was ahead The other thing is they pump sound in the place That place is so loud It s very loud whether the crowd is cheering or not he explained In the first playoff match at the Intuit Dome the Clippers fans made noise just as James Harden predicted I expect it to be rockin in there The Nuggets They sulked quietly into the Los Angeles night MPJ disappears On a night when the Nuggets desperately needed Michael Porter Jr to provide a spark especially on the offensive end he was AWOL Porter played hurt and it manifested Porter scored just seven points on -of- shooting including of from -point land in minutes Late in the fourth quarter when the Nuggets waved the white flag Porter headed to the locker room He sprained his left shoulder late in a - Championship loss but the Nuggets hoped he would be a force He wasn t Also after Porter s -point -rebound performance in Contest he announced he was struggling to break in a new leg brace the one he had worn for three years under his left sock until it of late broke Clippers sail away Hard to believe but the Nuggets led - with left in the first quarter when Aaron Gordon drained a -pointer At that point Gordon had of Denver s points he finished with points But the Clippers took off and never looked back The Nuggets stood around L A went on an - run to take command The run became - as L A scored consecutive points By halftime the Clippers led - and had drained of -pointers That s the majority -pointers the Nuggets have ever given up in one half in a playoff tournament L A cooled off in the second half but still made of from behind the arc The Nuggets made of Related Articles Clippers crush Nuggets in Contest as Intuit Dome makes playoff debut How to watch Nuggets vs Clippers Battle in Denver after controversial NBA TV broadcast decision Russell Westbrook former high school coach says wants to win title to make it all worth it David Adelman very optimistic Michael Porter Jr can play Nuggets Tournament at Clippers Nuggets Podcast Kawhi Leonard goes nuclear Nikola Jokic dons a sleeve and Russell Westbrook rides the rollercoaster Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis