Nuggets vow to 'bring it' after Game 2 embarrassment

Denver Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman believes his team was "punked" by the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinals, and rightfully so. 

The Thunder set all sorts of records in their 149-106 win, including the highest-scoring first half ever, a franchise points record and the highest individual plus-minus (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) in NBA history. 

The Nuggets can go nowhere but up after one of the worst losses in franchise history. Ahead of Game 3 on their court, Adelman vowed that his team would "bring it" in the Mile High City and flip the series. 

"I think the guys have it in them and I think they'll bring it tomorrow night," Adelman told reporters on Thursday.

Adelman revealed his team watched countless hours of Game 2 footage, following which they acknowledged the need to change their "mindset" to pose a threat to the 68-win juggernaut.

"We weren't ready to play at their level," Adelman said of his team going down 45-21 in the first quarter in Game 2. "It took us a while to understand the kind of game it was... A lot of times in the playoffs, it's about which team hits first.... Tomorrow, we have to be the aggressor. I expect us to be just like the Clippers series. We take confidence in knowing we previously flipped the script on how the games are played."

To Adelman's point, the Nuggets went down 2-1 to the Clippers before storming back to win the series 4-3. The top-seeded Thunder pose a tougher challenge, but some believe their inexperience could help the Nuggets upset the NBA title favorites and advance to the next round.

Historically, the team that wins Game 3 in a tied best-of-seven series prevails 65.8% of the time (54-28). As such, the stakes couldn't be higher in Friday night's Game 3 at the Ball Arena in Denver.