Christian Braun Says Nuggets Feel No Panic After 2-1 Deficit
christian braun said the Denver Nuggets are not flinching after Game 3 put them behind 2-1 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs. Braun said the mood inside the locker room has not changed, even with Denver needing Game 4 to settle the series back down.
Braun on Denver’s Locker Room
“This is a team that’s been there. This is a team that’s won a championship…There is no panic inside our locker room. I know there is panic outside of locker room.” Braun said that after Game 3, and he added that everybody in Denver understands the next game has to go the Nuggets’ way. The quote fits the roster he is part of: a core group that has already won at the highest level and is now trying to answer a two-game surge from Minnesota.
The Timberwolves took two straight games after Game 3, and the pressure is on Denver’s offense to clean up the numbers that have dragged the series into this spot. The Nuggets have been shooting barely above 40% across the series, a rough mark for a team built around Nikola Jokic and a veteran core.
Jokic’s Shooting Line
Jokic has been at the center of that struggle. He scored 24 points in Game 2, then shot 26.9% on 26 shots in Game 3 while posting 27 points, three assists and four turnovers. He also had three fewer assists in Game 2 than in Game 1, a dip that tracks with the tighter Minnesota defense Denver has seen in the series.
Rudy Gobert has been part of that resistance on the other side. Denver has had to deal with a Timberwolves front line that has made the paint and the passing lanes harder to use, and Jokic’s postseason line shows how much that has narrowed the room for error. Braun has still produced, averaging 10 points in the series while shooting 39.1% from the field, but Denver has needed more than that from the rest of the rotation.
Game 4 For Denver
Game 4 is the next step for the Nuggets, and the path forward is simple: win it or head deeper into a hole. The article said Denver would get a chance to return on Saturday, April 25, for Game 5 if it can extend the series, but Braun’s message leaves no doubt about the immediate task. The locker room does not sound rattled; it sounds like a team that believes the response has to show up on the court.
