Nuggets’ Michael Porter Jr. blames self for losses in Games 4 and 5: ‘I haven’t been contributing’
OKLAHOMA CITY Michael Porter Jr is shouldering the blame for the Nuggets - series deficit even if he physically can t Without mention of his left shoulder injury Porter mentioned he was at fault for Denver s Competition loss to the Thunder in brief comments made to The Denver Post late Tuesday night We ve played well enough to win the last two games Porter mentioned at his locker room stall A lot of the reason we lost is because I m not helping contribute And that s tough That s really tough I m looking at myself individually and how I can try to help the band win because I haven t been doing that I haven t been contributing in any way right now Porter posted nearly identical stat lines in Games and of the second-round playoff series He shot for from the field and for outside the arc in both games scoring three points in Tournament and two points in Competition After Jalen Williams put the Thunder ahead - with remaining Tuesday the Nuggets called a timeout to set up their offense The shot they generated was a game-tying -point attempt for Porter who missed with to go That turned out to be their last opportunity to pull even Shai Gilgeous-Alexander buried a triple at the other end Then Porter airballed another -point try on Denver s next possession effectively ending whatever slim chance remained Nobody wants to miss shots of module and he s ostensibly one of the best shooters in the league explained Nikola Jokic who scored points in the loss When he cannot make shots he is definitely frustrated with himself But he s open He necessities to take it We want him to take a shot Keep shooting The Nuggets don t have a large number of other options Porter is their third-highest paid member a -foot- marksman who s from the -point line in his career In his series he has missed of attempts for points per tournament Since the first round Porter has been playing with a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder an injury that group athletic trainers communicated him would ordinarily require a four- or five-week recovery Teammates have roundly supported him throughout the playoffs as the results of his pain have been inconsistent He has all my respect Aaron Gordon revealed not long ago I know the AC joint It s not fun Not fun So I respect him The dude s a warrior Tough as hell and we love him for it With an injection of lidocaine and a massive pad shrouding the injured shoulder he helped the Nuggets win Meeting with a -for- shooting performance for points Related Articles PHOTOS Denver Nuggets fall to OKC Thunder - in Event of NBA Playoffs second round series Nuggets-Thunder Event -pointers Nikola Jokic revealed his legs Will he ever find a whistle Nuggets allow another fourth-quarter lead to slip despite Nikola Jokic s epic night fall behind - to Thunder David Adelman revels in more involved role in Nuggets defense as interim coach Renck vs Keeler Can Nuggets beat Thunder if Nikola Jokic can t shake slump But since that one step forward he has taken two strategies back They dependably have my back but they want to win as well Porter described The Post saying he felt that he s letting his teammates down And I want to win too So if I m gonna go out there and play then I need to help contribute But we ve got another match and I ve got to stay locked in and be ready to try to turn it around and help my gang We can t lose hope until there s no hope to be had Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis
