Jamal Murray looked down at the box score and gawked.
“O for 9 from three, bro!” Murray exclaimed as if he wasn’t acutely aware of how much he’d struggled from the field in Monday’s Game 2 playoff win over the Suns.
Seated to his right was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, whose three clutch 3-pointers in the fourth quarter helped shake a cold spell that’d plagued every Nugget not named Nikola Jokic. The reigning two-time MVP dumped in 39 points. Aaron Gordon was Denver’s second-leading scorer with 16 points.
“I didn’t even see that,” Caldwell-Pope responded, perhaps giving cover to his star point guard or perhaps telling the truth about how focused he was in Denver’s resounding 97-87 victory.
Had Caldwell-Pope looked around, he would’ve seen Murray’s chilly 3-of-15 night, Michael Porter Jr.’s inconsequential 2-of-7 showing, and Denver’s 3-point shooting percentage hovering around 25%. Without Caldwell-Pope’s four 3-pointers, Denver would’ve shot 3 for 23 from outside.
Maybe it’s a good thing he had no idea because Caldwell-Pope didn’t put any extra pressure on himself when he buried consecutive fourth-quarter 3s to flip a three-point deficit into a three-point lead halfway through the period. The first came off a feed from Murray; the second off a pick-and-roll action involving Murray and Jokic.
Even on a night when its offense was struggling, Denver’s attack still has the potential to wrap Phoenix’s defense in knots. And even when the offense isn’t playing up to its ability, the Nuggets flashed an ability to win “ugly,” as in, with its defense.
Caldwell-Pope, deemed “one of the premier two-way players in this league,” by Nuggets coach Michael Malone, was brought to Denver for the postseason. With all due respect to Monte Morris and Will Barton, who were traded for the 10-year veteran, Caldwell-Pope’s impact has been profound. Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth admired his two-way potential, veteran leadership and championship experience.
All three have manifested in myriad ways in Denver’s locker room. Murray credited Caldwell-Pope for using his voice, communicating in huddles and through defensive schemes. He said Caldwell-Pope helped keep teammates “grounded,” when shots weren’t falling or when Devin Booker caught a rhythm. Perhaps most importantly, Murray said Caldwell-Pope conveyed the mental strength it takes to win in the postseason, or, on Monday, to bury 3-pointers when his teammates had gone cold.
“KCP does everything for us,” said fellow guard Bruce Brown, who together helped hold the Suns to just 14 points in the fourth quarter. “Me and him kind of in the same role. … He’s the only champion in here, so I learn as much as I can from him.”
And just what does Caldwell-Pope know, having won a championship in the bubble as a member of the Lakers?
“I mean the effort that it takes, I would say,” Caldwell-Pope said. “Any given night, it could be anybody’s night. .. (Jamal) had a bad night, but everybody else stepped up, which we need and that’s why I love this team. We got a deep bench and everybody can play, can score the ball and just being able to defend. I told my team earlier before the series, defense is going to win us this series and a championship.”
Before Caldwell-Pope left the podium, he repeated his missive. After Monday night, the Nuggets are two games away from the conference finals. They have their defense, a sparkling MVP-caliber performance, and Caldwell-Pope’s daggers 3-pointers to thank for getting them there.
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