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JAMAL MURRAY, NUGGETS BOUNCE BACK IN GAME 3 BLOWOUT OF.WOLVES

 MINNEAPOLIS -- Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone challenged his team to act and play like the defending champions.

On Friday, the Nuggets, and Jamal Murray in particular, responded with their best performance of the playoffs, routing the Minnesota Timberwolves 117-90 in Game 3 at the Target Center. The Nuggets trail the Timberwolves 2-1 in their best-of-seven series.

Murray, fueled by a hostile Minnesota crowd that booed him from the moment he stepped onto the floor during pregame warmups, scored 18 of his 24 points in the first half to set the tone for the Nuggets.

"That definitely fueled me during the game," Murray said of the boos. "And just keeps me in that mode. So it's fun. I embrace that challenge. I embrace that moment. I probably deserved the boos, so I'm not shying away from it."

Minnesota fans wouldn't let Murray off the hook for throwing a heat pack and towel onto the floor during a dreadful 106-80 Nuggets loss in Game 2. Murray, who shot 3-for-18 in that loss, was fined $100,000 by the league for throwing objects onto the court.

Murray's troublesome left calf strain was better Friday night, and he thrived in his role as the villain.

"He does kind of relish those moments where he's a bad guy," Malone said. "To me, that beginning of the game, you're in hostile territory, and that's kind of where you separate the man from the boys."

The Nuggets built a 45-25 lead midway through the second quarter. With Malone emphasizing a hit-first mentality on offense, the Nuggets cleared more space for their shooters than they had in the previous two games against the Timberwolves' suffocating defense.

Murray showed how much better he was feeling when he used two crossovers to shake free of Karl-Anthony Towns before drilling a jumper on the big man in the first quarter.

"We had a live practice, so I got to test it out," Murray said of Denver's practice on Thursday. "But this was probably the best I felt going into the game. And then it tightened up at the end. But it's good, man."

Minnesota fans likely wished Murray had been suspended for throwing objects onto the floor in Game 2, even if Timberwolves coach Chris Finch wasn't expecting that to happen.

"I wasn't disappointed in the league's decision," Finch said. "Not because necessarily I agreed. It was simply I never, ever, ever expected them to suspend him. I thought they would throw a heavy fine. There hasn't really been much precedent for suspending people certainly in the playoffs unless it's a repeat offense. Whether it is or it isn't a suspendable thing doesn't matter now."

Finch was expecting the Nuggets to deliver a championship performance, and Denver did just that. All five Denver starters scored in double figures. After Murray started hot, MVP Nikola Jokic took over in the third quarter, scoring 13 of his 24 points in the frame. He finished with 24 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks, along with several crucial screens to set teammates free for shots.

Michael Porter Jr. had 21 points, and Aaron Gordon buried three triples and had 13 points.

"That was Denver Nugget basketball," Malone said. "And that's the first time I've seen that in this series for four quarters."

Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 19 points but also had a game-high five turnovers, and Minnesota was outscored by 32 points in the 37 minutes he was on the court.

"I'll take the blame for this loss," Edwards said. "I came out with no energy at all. I can't afford to do that for my team. I let my team down, coaches down, fans down. I'll be ready Sunday."

Edwards wasn't the only member of the Timberwolves to take accountability after the team lost for the first time this postseason following a 6-0 start.

Minnesota point guard Mike Conley (10 points, 6 assists) said the game was officiated differently than the series was in Denver, as evidenced by Jaden McDaniels picking up three fouls in eight minutes of playing time in the first half. But Conley put the onus on his team to adapt to the whistle.

"Tonight, guys weren't allowed to be as physical as we were in the last game, so we had to adjust our play for that, and that's what good teams do," Conley said. "We don't blame the refs and think that's why we lost this game. We know better than that."

Towns, who had 14 points on 4-for-7 shooting, tied for the second-fewest shot attempts he has taken in 23 career playoff games, said Denver gave Minnesota a wake-up call.

"It's a great humbling experience, I think, for our team," Towns said. "To understand that this is not easy. Just because we've been fortunate to find ourselves on the winning end for six straight playoff games don't mean that the seventh, the eighth, the ninth, the 10th is going to be the same result. I think this is a great humbling experience for us and the defending champions definitely gave us that experience and it's going to make us hungrier. I think it's going to make us a better team."

ESPN's Dave McMenamin contributed to this report.

- Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN Staff Writer

LAKERS' LEBRON JAMES RIPS OFFICIATING AFTER LOSS TO NUGGETS

 DENVER -- After a heartbreaking 101-99 loss in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets on Monday, LeBron James was one of several Los Angeles Lakers players to criticize the officiating during his postgame comments.

"I don't understand what's going on in the replay center, to be honest," James said.

James has voiced his displeasure with the league's replay process several times this season, such as when his foot was ruled to be on the 3-point line in a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves and out of bounds in a loss to the Golden State Warriors.

On Monday night in Denver, he specifically took issue with a shooting foul called against Michael Porter Jr. on D'Angelo Russell late in the third quarter that was overturned after Nuggets coach Michael Malone challenged the call.

"D-Lo clearly gets hit in the face on a drive," James said. "What the f--- do we have a replay center for if it's going to go [like that]? It doesn't make sense to me."

Russell was seemingly in agreement, writing on X after the game, "That's a foul we all saw it on national television."

L.A. led 79-69 with 39.5 seconds remaining in the third quarter when the foul was overturned, erasing two free throw attempts for Russell. The Lakers point guard shot 82.8% from the free throw line this season.

The missed opportunity for two points became that much more consequential with the way the game ended: Jamal Murray's fadeaway jumper on the baseline from 16 feet away as time expired delivered Denver a two-point win and 2-0 series lead.

Crew chief Scott Foster announced over the public address system that Porter's contact was "marginal," and the call was overturned.

A Lakers source told ESPN that James' foul on Murray with 57.1 seconds left, which rewarded the Nuggets guard two free throws that tied the game 97-97, also could be considered "marginal contact."

"It makes no sense to me," James continued. "It bothers me. ... And then I just saw what happened with the Sixers-Knicks game too. Like, what are we doing?"

As James (26 points, 12 assists, 8 rebounds) got up from the podium and headed toward the exit, he added, "It's f---ing stupid."

While L.A. had a 19-6 advantage in free throw attempts in Game 1, Denver had a 17-13 edge in attempts in Game 2.

Lakers coach Darvin Ham also referenced Lakers center Anthony Davis' foul trouble; Davis picked up his fourth with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter while setting a screen on Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. L.A. was up 74-63 at the time, and Ham subbed out Davis to try to keep him from fouling out. At that point, Davis was 14-for-18 from the field for 32 points. He attempted only one shot -- a missed pull-up in the lane midway through the fourth quarter -- the rest of the game.

"You can't have a remedy for foul trouble," Ham said. "It limits your player, takes all the aggression away."

With Davis' play affected by his fouls, Denver fought back from a 20-point deficit early in the third quarter. Murray scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth, with his buzzer-beater representing just the third winning shot to complete a comeback of 20 or more points in an NBA playoff game since 2000.

Jokic, who finished with 27 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists, also did damage down the stretch while matched up against the Lakers' Rui Hachimura, as Davis was switched off Jokic to avoid more fouls.

L.A. was "bogged down" in the fourth quarter, according to Lakers guard Austin Reaves, as James scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting and the rest of the team went just 3-for-9.

James missed his last shot -- a 3-pointer from the top of the key with the score tied at 99 and 16 seconds left.

"Had a wide-open look, and it rimmed out," James said. "I mean, it rimmed in, and it rimmed out."

Denver, meanwhile, went 7-for-7 to close out the fourth quarter.

The series now shifts to L.A.'s Crypto.com Arena on Thursday, as the Lakers attempt to snap what is now a 10-game losing streak against the Nuggets.

"Win Game 3," Davis said. "It's that simple. Just win Game 3."

Russell, who bounced back from a 6-for-20 shooting performance in Game 1 to score 23 points in Game 2 and tie a franchise postseason record with seven made 3-pointers, expressed confidence moving forward.

"We did a lot of good things that gave us an opportunity to win all night," Russell said. "Came down to some things that we really couldn't control. I like our fight."

For everything that went right for the Lakers on Monday, there is plenty of room for improvement. James went 4-for-11 on shots at the rim, with the seven misses tying the most he has had in a playoff game since joining the Lakers. Hachimura went 1-for-7 in the starting lineup. Denver's bench outscored L.A.'s reserves 12-6.

"We have stretches where we just don't know what we're doing on both ends of the floor," Davis said. "And those are the ones that cost us."

Second-guessing can't change the series, however. Only preparing to deliver a different outcome can.

"Protect home," James said. "That's where my mindset goes. And obviously, the only game that matters now is Game 3 and how we can get better. How we can figure this team out. So, Game 3 is where my mindset is."

ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.

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