The Utah Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets, 105-93, in Game 3 of the NBA Tournament on Friday, April 23 to take a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference first-round match up.
Jazz star Deron Williams recorded a double-double of 24 points and 10 assists in the win. But his wasn’t the most impressive double-double of the game: that honor went to Utah’s Paul Millsap, who scored a career-high 22 points and 19 rebounds off the bench.
“That’s what we do, especially coming off the bench,” Millsap told reporters. “When other guys aren’t really feeling it at the time, we’ve got to come in and do a good job of trying to spark them and get them going.”
While the Jazz players overachieved, Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony underachieved, scoring only 25 points, below his season average of 28.2 points. Chauncey Billups also scored 25 points, but was the only other Denver player to score double-digits.
“What I’m most disappointed at is that we failed to compete tonight as a team,” Anthony said to the media. “I think the Utah Jazz have done a good job making some adjustments defending me. When I get the ball I see two guys, three triple-teaming me. It’s not just one guy on me.”