[jwplayer J7g8OMFy]
Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. has proven to be a versatile offensive player this season but when it comes to the defensive side of the ball, the rookie has struggled at times.
Those struggles were once again on display on Friday during a 124-87 blowout loss in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz. Porter finished with just seven points and five rebounds in 15 minutes of work.
Porter was a minus-20 while on the floor and proved to be unplayable at times on defense. The Jazz consistently took advantage of him in pick-and-roll situations and targeted him nearly every time down the floor, with much success.
Porter earned the start in the contest but was not on the floor to begin the third quarter with the deficit at 17 points. Soon the lead ballooned to 32 points in the third quarter and the Nuggets all but threw in the towel.
Michael Malone is stressing pic.twitter.com/SOsLVQLu9y
— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) August 21, 2020
Of course, Porter was not responsible for all of the Nuggets’ defensive problems. They allowed the Jazz to shoot 51.2% from the field and gave up 18 3-pointers during the contest as Mike Conley Jr. made a career-high seven treys to finish with 27 points and Rudy Gobert scored a career-high 24 points.
Aside from Game 1, the Nuggets have not performed well against the Jazz and now face a 2-1 series deficit with Game 4 looming on Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET.
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