Nuggets expect a “real chippy” Game 3

Series tied 1-1

Game 2 was all but decided when emotions reached a boiling point between Portland and Denver late Wednesday.

The Blazers were up 95-88 before a shoving match broke out at midcourt with Portland forward Enes Kanter in the middle of it. What preempted the skirmish, less than a minute before the Blazers would seal Game 2 of the playoff series with a 97-90 win and send the series back to Portland tied 1-1, depended on which team you talked to.

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic appeared to push Kanter after a free throw attempt. That shove sent Kanter sprawling toward Denver’s battered wing Torrey Craig. Kanter crashed hard into Craig’s left shoulder and sent him directly to the deck.

“I thought he hit Torrey,” said Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray, who was on the bench but joined the fray during a timeout and jawed with Kanter. Once the dust settled, Murray and Kanter each drew technical fouls.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who played “peacemaker” during the skirmish, said he didn’t see any malice upon watching the replay.

Bottom line, expect the rest of the Western Conference semifinal series to be physical.

“Listen, both of these teams are trying to get to the Western Conference finals,” Malone said. “It’s going to be hard fought, it’s going to be physical, but there’s nothing dirty about that, and I respect that.”

Denver’s backup guard Monte Morris was on the bench when it happened. He said that intensity foreshadowed what Friday’s ESPN Game 3 will be like.

“I saw Torrey on the ground,” Morris said. “I was on the bench. I didn’t see it, but that showed you how Game 3 is going to be. It’s going to be real chippy. We’ve just got to be ready to take the challenge, throw the first punch and do what we do to get the win.”

Morris took pride in the fact that Murray and Gary Harris were quick to react to the collision.

“That’s just how it’s got to be,” Morris said. “We call each other brothers. We’ve got to ride for each other.” 5 p.m. Sunday TNT

According to Kanter, the skirmish was the result of Jokic’s push.

“It was a free-throw box-out, and then this dude literally just pushed me into his teammate, and then I knocked somebody down,” Kanter said. “Then they started getting in my face. I’m like ‘I didn’t do anything, your teammate just pushed me into you,’ so I like that. That for me is what the playoffs are all about, just out there and just give everything you have. You either win or you go home.”

Harris was the first to Kanter 8:30 p.m. Tuesday TNT Thursday, May 9, if necessary and appeared to tell him “stop doing that (expletive)” before the shoving broke out.

Intended or not, Craig was a sensitive target during Game 2. He left the game early in the second quarter after battling for a rebound. He collided with Portland’s Zach Collins as he went for the rebound and walked off the court gingerly with blood gushing from his nose and with the help of several team staffers. As he was falling, he hit the back of Morris’ leg.

It wasn’t until midway through the third quarter that Craig Sunday, May 12, if necessary returned and did so sporting a protective mask, one he wore this preseason after suffering a fractured nose. Craig, who’d drawn the defensive assignment against Blazers star Damian Lillard throughout the first five quarters of the series, drew an ovation from the crowd upon his return.

“He’s like a warrior on our team,” Morris said.

Harris loved the resiliency that he showed.

“Most guys wouldn’t even come back in that game after that,” Harris said. “That’s why we love playing with Torrey.”