Oh, yes! Nurse, Raptors look to finish series with Magic

Published 11:05 pm Monday, April 22, 2019

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse pumps his fist after his team scored a basket against the Orlando Magic during the second half in Game 3 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Friday, April 19, 2019, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

DENVER  — In response to an early call, Toronto coach Nick Nurse formed the perfect “O’’ with his mouth and held it for a dozen or so seconds.

Oh, these playoffs. They can leave your mouth agape — just like Nurse’s gone-viral expression on the bench during a win Sunday in Orlando.

Now leading 3-1, Nurse and the Raptors look to close out their series with the Magic at home Tuesday. The same goes for Philadelphia against Brooklyn and Portland against Oklahoma City.

The second-seeded Denver Nuggets return home Tuesday following their first victory in San Antonio since 2012. Tied at 2, they’ve reclaimed home-court advantage as Nuggets coach Michael Malone finds himself in quite a chess match with his counterpart Gregg Popovich.

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“He’s Bobby Fischer,” Malone said, in comparing Popovich to the chess prodigy. “He’s a savant. So I’m not worried about matching wits with Gregg Popovich. I’m worried about helping our team.”

Face it, this was comical: The look of Nurse, who instantly became a meme with his expression during a Game 4 win. After a 3-second call on Fred VanVleet in the opening quarter, Nurse stood almost perfectly still on the sideline, his mouth ajar.

Informed it erupted on social media, Nurse said: “Is that a good thing?”

Here’s perhaps a not-so-good thing: Toronto’s history in closing out series. The Raptors are 5-6 when they have a chance to win a playoff series, according to the team.

“This team, let’s see if they can start their own history,” Nurse said. “We need to do our best to take care of business.”

It certainly was a wild weekend around the league, with Brooklyn GM Sean Marks drawing a one-game suspension — and a fine — for entering the referees’ locker room after a Game 4 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday. In that game, Brooklyn’s Jared Dudley and Philadelphia’s Jimmy Butler were ejected after a scuffle broke out following Joel Embiid’s flagrant foul against Jarrett Allen in the third quarter. The league fined Dudley $25,000 and Butler $15,000.

San Antonio guard DeMar DeRozan got hit in the wallet by the league, too, after tossing the basketball in the direction of an official following a called he didn’t like in a Game 4 loss. Asked Monday at practice if there was anything he regrets about the incident besides the $25,000, DeRozan responded: “The 25-grand. I don’t want to just give away that much money.”

The series between the Nuggets and Spurs has been highly entertaining, with each team earning a win on the other’s home floor.

“Back at square one,” DeRozan said. “Got to go in there and win in a tough environment. It should be fun.”