Nuggets’ Christian Braun finds Game 7 vindication after Timberwolves disappointment

By now the numbers are but an ancient rune just a inadequate weeks but a world of difference separating this version of Christian Braun from his -year-old self They sat a stark reminder on the background of Braun s phone in Los Angeles after the Nuggets dropped Match to the Clippers The total amount of tournament clock that he spent on the floor in a crushing Challenge elimination last year against Minnesota minutes and seconds Five points Yanked for ex-Nugget Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for a crucial fourth-quarter stretch Frustration But a year around the sun brought him back to another Contest a campaign for a Most of Improved Competitor behind him despite little signs of age in his youthful face and forward Peyton Watson imparted a sparse positive affirmations before Saturday s contest Just telling him that it s gonna be a big tournament for him Watson recalled Saturday night to The Denver Post And that how much I know he s a gamer And that he is that guy and we needed him to step up big And he did For an entire series Braun and Clippers star James Harden were at each other s throats Braun assumed the challenge of guarding a near-unguardable guard thrust into the role of de-facto point-of-attack defender after Caldwell-Pope s offseason departure Harden got in Braun s face in Championship built-up frustration releasing after a take foul Underlying tension continued to simmer in Contest Braun bumping chests with Harden in picking him up full-court after a leak-out in the first quarter And this time this Challenge Braun proved himself irreplaceable as he provided near-constant shots of adrenaline and stifled the Clippers star to a grand total of seven points in Denver s - closeout win I longed to be more Braun stated of last year s loss to the Timberwolves And everybody wants to play more But I just thought that in that meeting I felt like I was playing well and desired to play more minutes And everybody wants that everybody in the league wants that and I got that he continued referencing the Clippers closeout That s exactly what I needed and those guys trusted me they have all year but they trusted me in that moment So this is the exact moment I was looking for The moments piled up on Saturday He gave the Nuggets specific early life on a flurry of cuts as offensive engines Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray sputtered to an -of- start He locked Harden up on a final Clippers possession at the end of the quarter aided by a Murray double-team He hit two big third-quarter s as the Nuggets blitzed the Clippers out of the break he and Russell Westbrook nailing timely shots and buoying Ball Arena s crowd with sheer effervescence in the process Braun s shot has been a season-long topic of discussion in his maturation He came into Saturday shooting from against the Clippers and was of in Tournament Jokic though loved that of That s the best thing he recalled telling Braun He has encouraged confidence in outside looks from Braun all season Related Articles Renck With Christian Braun Russell Westbrook providing jolt David Adelman shows he should be Nuggets next coach Keeler Denver fans proved up proved out for Nuggets Avalanche Battle s Never root against us PHOTOS Denver Nuggets put away LA Clippers - in Meeting of first-round NBA playoff series Nuggets finish the job in Championship rout Clippers to punch ticket to Oklahoma City Nuggets-Clippers Challenge -pointers Christian Braun wins the Harden matchup once and for all I mean winner Jokic reported of Braun postgame We know that he is a - participant The ball is dependably in his hands All the dirty all the small plays that you don t guys see it it s not in the stats The stats though also exhibited of from deep and points Saturday part of a supplemental cast of Nuggets that shouldered a massive load with Jokic and Murray struggling early And Braun will be equally major on both ends against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder His assignment a member in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who Jokic called unguardable basically Braun s proven at least that he deserves the chance He s aggressive he s annoying and he knows what to do Jokic stated And he accepts the role because he s a winner Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis