Michael Porter Jr. reveals he’s struggling to break in new leg brace, blames self for Nuggets’ Game 2 loss

Redemption was cruelly taken away from Michael Porter Jr in one disastrous sequence that left him and the Nuggets licking their various wounds For Denver it was a deadlocked first-round series with the Clippers For Porter it was a sprained joint in his left shoulder nothing too serious he announced with an optimistic look ahead to Championship in Los Angeles but painful enough that he needed help putting on his hoodie Monday after a Competition loss The final tally was - the decisive points scored by Norman Powell in the wreckage of Porter s turnover with remaining After securing a defensive rebound in a deadlocked meeting Porter fumbled an attempted outlet pass and tried to dive after the loose ball So did Clippers guard Kris Dunn who landed on Porter Neither of them secured the ball It bounced to Powell instead and he dribbled into a go-ahead open -pointer Insult to injury I made a stupid play after I got the rebound Porter disclosed and tried to make up for it And someone landed on my shoulder I ve never experienced a pain like this in my shoulder area I ve had rolled ankles so I know what I can play through with that I ve never had this Luckily it s on my left side not my right side so that s good Michael Porter Jr of the Denver Nuggets winces after a scramble for a loose ball against Kris Dunn of the LA Clippers ended up on the ground during the fourth quarter of the Clippers - win at Ball Arena in Denver on Monday April Photo by AAron Ontiveroz The Denver Post Porter was on track to emerge from Championship as a bounce-back hero until that moment After getting benched in the series opener he amassed points and rebounds on -of- shooting He cleaned up the offensive glass at crucial moments helped lead Denver s transition attack and buried a late game-tying -pointer But the -year-old forward was more hung up on his costly turnover three minutes later He circled the locker room and apologized to teammates after the loss blaming himself I thought I had someone streaking down the floor I was trying to advance it up Porter commented But I saw that I didn t have someone looking for the pass so then I ended up turning it over Just feel like that was the biggest turnover of the tournament The Nuggets committed turnovers as a crew including an errant pass by Nikola Jokic down three with seconds left Porter s shoulder sprain isn t his only health-related obstacle at the moment Shedding more light on his fresh struggles he revealed Monday that his vital foot brace broke in recent months and he hasn t felt confident yet in a replacement I ve been trying to get used to a new one Porter noted None of them seem to fit right and it s just affecting my movement I m not used to them So I haven t been as confident in my movements since that one broke For three years Porter wore the same brace underneath his left sock supporting ankle and foot instability that stemmed from the three back surgeries he has overcome The trouble with a new one is that playoff basketball is not an ideal time to break it in It s the worst time to deal with it he stated Porter tallied only three points on four shots in Battle last Saturday going scoreless after knocking down a jumper on Denver s first possession of the series Interim coach David Adelman closed the event with Russell Westbrook instead of Porter emphasizing defensive impact in the low-man position as one way Porter could improve in Meeting One of his responsibilities is to help from the weak side against opposing big men in pick-and-roll plays Related Articles PHOTOS Denver Nuggets fall to Los Angeles Clippers - in Match of first-round NBA playoff series Nuggets-Clippers Contest -pointers Kawhi Leonard goes nuclear as Clippers even series Costly errors haunt Nuggets in clutch time of Competition loss to Clippers Clippers coach Ty Lue on Nuggets interim David Adelman He has a good demeanor about him on the sideline Nuggets vs Clippers Themes from Tournament to watch as playoff series continues At the other end where Porter is best the Clippers stayed home on him around the -point arc helping off of lesser shooters instead Even in his solid bounce-back effort he only attempted four outside shots His remedy for that he announced was to show up more ready to go in other procedures after the benching I just knew that the way they re playing me the way they re putting Kawhi I m not getting lots of open looks Porter declared They re blacking out on the plays we would run for me They re switching out So I know my shots that I m gonna get this series are transition and offensive rebounds There s not going to be a lot of open s for me I don t think He was better tonight Adelman announced We were trying to sneak him back out after a defensive possession in the last minute Obviously Michael really stretches the floor and the way they were guarding bringing three and four people to one side of the court we have to find a way to make Mike an impact member in those situations If they re willing to leave and rotate we can do better Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis