Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Michael Porter Jr. = Nuggets difference maker

A valiant effort wasn’t enough for the Lakers to hold off the defending champions at The Crypt. Anthony Davis and LeBron James were dynamic. But the Nuggets’ fantastic four were overbearing and are now up 3-0 in a best-of-seven series.

Nikola Jokić chopped down interior protections. Jamal Murray’s jumper was on target in frames two and three. Aaron Gordon finished a dozen times in the restricted area. And Michael Porter Jr. closed the door on the hosts with 10 fourth-quarter points.

Unless the Purple and Mold transform into the ‘87 Lakers, and the Nuggets play with a tied hand behind their backs, what’s left of the matchup is a formality.

After the game, Jokić was asked about MPJ. He said his teammate is “one of the best shooters I’ve ever seen or played with… he’s capable of making big, tough shots.” Before leaving, Joker credited Porter’s mindset and his approach, too.

Porter’s glass clean up and marksmanship has been a security blanket for the outfit through three outings. He is the second-leading rebounder and his Effective Field Goal percentage is 12.3 points higher than the league average (54.7). Additionally, MPJ is putting up 20.3 points, nine rebounds, 1.3 assists and a steal per game against the Lakers in round one.

Yet, Porter is balling while going through an emotional time. His brother Jontay was expelled from the NBA for betting on games with someone else’s account. And his other brother, Coban, was sentenced to six years in prison for a drunken, fatal vehicular crash on April 19. MPJ was present in court that day, giving a character statement. He said Coban was the brother he looked up to while growing up.

Then Coban was cuffed and taken to prison at the hearing’s conclusion. As children, Michael and his brothers were best friends.

After Game 1, MPJ was asked about playing with heavy emotions in the locker room. He said, “[I] definitely tried to compartmentalize. Some bad stuff happened to my brothers, but I got 15, 16 more brothers in here. I knew I had to be here for them…”

On Friday, Porter’s nine-point flurry to close the first half helped the Nuggets reclaim its focus. In Game 2, he connected on a critical second-chance triple that tied the game with 75 seconds left. And late on Thursday, he buried the Lakers, swishing four jumpers and recording a layup off a backdoor cut.

As Lakers fans dispersed, Porter handled the on-court interview with Altitude TV. He said staying aggressive was the priority and that his jump shot was falling.

At the postgame presser, he was asked about his three assists that Gordon scored on. He said, “That’s my boy on and off the court. We definitely got a connection…you can throw the ball anywhere [and] he’s going to get it, he’s going to go up strong and dunk it.”

With Porter performing at this rate and the other pieces producing at a high level, knocking off the champs looks nearly impossible.