Milestone No. 26: The Nuggets come back from two 3-1 deficits in the bubble
Mar 7, 2025, 7:10 AM | Updated: 7:16 am
The Fan is turning 30! For three decades, the station has been covering Denver sports, serving as a media outlet of record for the biggest events over the past 30 years.
There have been a lot of them. From championships to MVPs, from historic seasons to improbable victories, The Fan has been there for all of them.
What were the best of the best? During a six week span, Denver Sports will chronicle the moments that stood out the most. It’s a countdown from No. 30 to No. 1, in a series called “Mile High Milestones.”
Enjoy the trip down memory lane!
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The 2020 NBA Playoffs were certainly unique. In fact, they were unlike anything the sport has ever seen.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, the league was forced to quarantine in Orlando in order to finish out their season. Sequestered at Disney World hotels, the players and coaches finished out the campaign in an empty arena.
The regular season was suspended on March 19. It would resume on August 1, with teams playing a handful of games for seeding purposes. There was nothing to suggest that the Nuggets would fare very well.
During those tune-up games, Denver posted a below average 3-5 record. That earned them the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
The postseason started off well, with the Nuggets beating the Jazz in Game 1 of the first round. But it quickly took a negative turn. Denver lost the next three games, falling into a 3-1 hole.
It looked bleak, but hope wasn’t lost. Jamal Murray followed a 50-point effort in a Game 4 loss with 42 points, eight rebounds and eight assists to stave off elimination. He posted another 50-point night to knot the series at 3-3. Then, in a nail-biter, the Nuggets prevailed 80-78 in Game 7, when Mike Conley’s series-winning three-pointer just missed.
The comeback was amazing, one for the ages. But Denver was just getting started.
A second-round series against the Clippers followed a similar script. The Nuggets lost Game 1, evened the series at 1-1 and then dropped two straight to fall into another two-game hole. It looked bleak, as no team in NBA history had ever overcome two 3-1 deficits in the same postseason.
But Denver was a resilient bunch. They won Game 5 by six points and then rallied from 18 points down in the third quarter in Game 6. At that point, the deciding game seemed like a formality.
The Clippers were demoralized, having squandered away the series clincher. And the Nuggets knew they could win a Game 7, which they did in decisive fashion, beating Los Angeles 104-89 behind 40 points from Murray, as well as 22 rebounds and 13 assists from Jokic.
Denver would eventually lose in the next round, falling to the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. But the seed was planted for things to come.
The next time Jokic and Murray were on the floor together during the postseason, they’d lead the Nuggets to the franchise’s first-ever NBA title. The genesis for that improbable run can be traced back to the bubble, where an upstart team made league history by never giving up, rallying from two 3-1 deficits in the playoffs.
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THE COUNTDOWN
30: Ubaldo Jimenez has a magical season
29: Todd Helton get enshrined in Cooperstown
28: Valeri Nichushkin goes missing in the postseason – twice!
27: The Avalanche win their second Stanley Cup
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Wanna hear more about this Mile High Milestone? Tune into “The Rundown” at noon or check out the show on YouTube to hear Richie Carni and a special guest take a walk down memory lane.
