For the first time in two years, the Denver Nuggets might be heading toward a 0-2 deficit in a playoff series. After losing by seven points in the first game, the defending Champs have trailed heavily for most of tonight’s Game 2. Moreover, their chances to make a comeback looked even more bleak as their backup guard Reggie Jackson suffered a horrific injury scare late in the game that sent him straight to the locker room.

Heading into the final quarter down twenty-two points, the Nuggets tried to rally back in the last twelve minutes. However, just three minutes into the fourth quarter, Reggie Jackson checked out of the game. Then, instead of sitting on the bench, a hobbling Jackson dapped up his teammates and tried to walk straight to the tunnel. Seemingly suffering from a leg injury of some kind, he struggled to walk on his own and had to be helped by the Nuggets staff members. Despite that, he fell twice on his way back. Later, Jackson was seen hopping on his right leg trying to get to the locker room as fast as possible.

Although the source and severity of Jackson’s injury were unknown, he did not check back in for the rest of the game. Finishing the night with only three points in ten minutes, the point guard’s embarrassing outing ended early due to an unfortunate injury. Early in the game, Jackson was humiliated by Anthony Edwards as his fancy behind-the-back dribbling move caused the Nuggets guard to fall on his knees.

Adding salt in his wounds, Ant-Man pointed at Jackson as he tried to get back up. Despite playing on the home court, this will surely be a night Jackson will try to erase from his memory.

The Defending Champions struggle in Reggie Jackson’s absence

After Jackson left the game due to the injury, the Timberwolves continued their beatdown on the Nuggets. While Nikola Jokic’s squad scored twenty points in the final twelve minutes, it was not enough to even cut down the deficit from the previous three quarters. Meanwhile, they were also unable to stop Minnesota’s offense as they again outscored Denver in the fourth by adding 24 points to the board.

With Jackson out, the Nuggets didn’t have a backup point guard to rely upon and make up for Jamal Murray’s abysmal shooting night. Unlike his dominant performance in Game 2 against the Lakers, Murray could not get past the Timberwolves’ league-best defense and finished with only eight points tonight. Moreover, he missed all four of his shots from distance and also missed fifteen of his eighteen field goal attempts.

Even The Joker failed to pull off his trick to save the Nuggets and finished with only sixteen points. Meanwhile, KAT and Ant-Man combined for 54 points, leading their team to a dominant victory on the road. Now, with the series going to Minnesota, the Timberwolves have a chance to not only win their first second-round series in twenty years but also dethrone the defending Champions. Do you think Anthony Edwards and Co. can achieve that feat despite their playoff inexperience?