On multiple occasions in Tuesday night's double-overtime thriller, the Denver Nuggets had a chance to foul Damian Lillard while up three points in an attempt to deter him from hitting a game-tying 3-pointer. The Nuggets consistently opted against that strategy, and Lillard burned them several times.
While this befuddled many on NBA Twitter, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone had his reasons for not trying to foul a red-hot Dame in those spots. Basically, he has a lot of respect for Lillard and feared a 4-point play:
“Damian LIllard is like a Chris Paul. He’s been around the block. He knows what time it is. If you try and take that foul, my concern is for him making that shot and hitting a 4-point play. It’s about my respect for Damian Lillard in those situations.” – Michael Malone
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) June 2, 2021
This is an understandable outlook for Malone given how dangerous Lillard is, but there were chances to foul Dame without the 4-point play being a possibility. The most obvious came at the end of the first overtime after Lillard had already burned them at the end of regulation. Dame actually dribbled inside the arc before stepping back behind the 3-point line, which gave the Nuggets the chance to foul while he wasn't shooting a 3-pointer.
It all ended okay, though, as Denver survived Lillard's 55-point onslaught to come away with a 147-140 victory. The Nuggets finally started to do a better job of denying Dame airspace in the second overtime, and the other Blazers weren't able to make them pay.
As good as Lillard was, the likely MVP in Nikola Jokic had a monster game himself. The Joker went for 38 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and four blocks in 46 minutes of action. Michael Porter Jr. also notched a double-double with 26 points and 12 rebounds, while Monte Morris was huge off the bench with 28 big ones.
The Nuggets now have a chance to advance past the Blazers with a win in Portland in Game 6. If Malone finds himself in a similar situation up three points, will he follow the same strategy by not fouling Lillard? Based on his comments after the crazy Game 5, he's going to stick to his guns.
Stay tuned.
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