Los Angeles might have been kind to the Denver Nuggets in the past. The Clippers, though, aren’t planning on letting them have smiles on their faces. They established dominance in Game 3 of their first-round series. The Nuggets got bullied on both sides of the floor. Until now, everyone wondered whether the firing of coach Michael Malone signaled a discourse. Now, Nikola Jokic’s outburst might confirm that the fire is yet to be put out.

Three of the Clippers’ starters scored 20+ in their convincing win over Denver. Norman Powell regained his shooting touch, nailing three triples for the night. But one of his transition buckets left the Joker flustered. As soon as he walked over to the bench, the three-time MVP evidently expressed his displeasure to the Nuggets’ coaching staff.

A video caught him having a charged conversation with his coaches. And it wasn’t short-lived. The announcers of the game revealed, “It happened a couple of times throughout the timeout as well”.

At that moment, the Nuggets’ hopes of turning things around on the hope deflated. The Intuit Dome created an intimidating atmosphere for the visiting team.

Ahead of Thursday night’s pivotal Game 3, Denver’s interim head coach David Adelman didn’t shy away from stirring the pot. While offering backhanded praise to the Clippers’ new arena—likening the energy to a “high school crowd” in an NBA setting—Adelman didn’t hold back on accusing them of artificially inflating the atmosphere.

“They have the crowd towards our bench, it’s like a high school crowd, which is actually really cool. 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.”

If that wasn’t perfect foreshadowing, nothing is. Adelman just handed a fired-up fanbase all the fuel it needs for a historic first playoff game in their new home. Let the noise—real or not—erupt.

The arena provided a few seats with horse masks in hopes of getting into the Joker’s head. In addition, the chants were endless, rallying the Clippers to continue their onslaught on their rivals.

The Nuggets’ mainstay still managed to put in another productive shift. Jokic was efficient in his triple-double performance. But the rest of his team seemed drained by the Intuit Dome’s hostile air. They went down by as much as 22. Their well-engineered offense scored just 83 points, the least they have managed all season.

But playing against a united defensive team like the Clippers, there’s always a chance offense can falter. That wasn’t the entirety of why the Nuggets lost. Their inability to challenge the Clippers is what sank them in Game 3 and has put them in the backseat in the first round.

Michael Malone’s words ring around tonight’s loss

The Clippers deserve a lot of credit for being able to shut down the Nuggets offense. The team averaged 120 points during the regular season, the third highest for any team. But from the beginning of the series, the Clippers have defended them well. Their production has decreased subsequently over the three games.

Ty Lue might just have cracked the code of sculpting a defensive scheme to stop one of the most prolific offenses in the league. However, the Nuggets are yet to learn from their former coach’s lesson.

In January, Michael Malone said something that would resonate with this team right now. Even after winning the game, Malone emphasized. “If we’re going to be serious about winning at a high level and trying to make the playoffs and win a playoff series you can’t just give up 70-plus points in a half and allow teams to outrun you in transition and crash the glass with offensive rebounds,”.

On the glass tonight, the Clippers grabbed 15 offensive rebounds. The additional possessions led to a 20-7 advantage in second chance points. Furthermore, they also scored 65 points in the first half and scored 13 fastbreak points from the game. In order to turn this series around, the Nuggets defensive attention needs to get better drastically.

The Clippers, too, have revered offensive players who have the intellect to break down the best of defenses. But the Nuggets didn’t offer any friction. They played right into the enchanting atmosphere which was in favor of the Clippers. Now, they find themselves down 1-2 with another game at the Intuit Dome pending.

Do you think that’s enough time for the Nuggets to fix their problems? Let us know your views in the comments below.