“He’s the only champion in here”

Jamal Murray looked down at the box score and gawked.

“O for 9 from three, bro!” Murray exclaimed as if he wasn’t acutely aware how much he’d struggled from the field in Monday’s Game 2 win over the Suns.

Seated to his right was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, whose three clutch 3-pointers in the fourth quarter helped shake a cold spell that’d plagued every single Nugget not named Nikola Jokic. The reigning two-time MVP dumped in 39 points. Aaron Gordon was Denver’s second-leading scorer with 16.

“I didn’t even see that,” Caldwell-Pope responded, perhaps giving cover to his star point guard or perhaps telling the truth about how focused he was in Denver’s resounding 97-87 victory.

Had Caldwell-Pope looked around, he would’ve seen Murray’s chilly 3-of-15 night, Michael Porter Jr.’s inconsequential 2-of-7 showing, and Denver’s 3-point shooting percentage hovering around 25%. Without Caldwell-Pope’s four 3-pointers, Denver would’ve shot 3 for 23 from outside.

Maybe it’s a good thing he had no idea because Caldwell-Pope didn’t put any extra pressure on himself when he buried consecutive fourth-quarter 3s to flip a three-point deficit into a three-point lead several minutes into the fourth. The first came off a feed from Murray; the second off a pick-and-roll action involving Murray and Jokic.

Even on a night when its offense was struggling, Denver’s attack still has the potential to wrap Phoenix’s defense in knots. And even when the offense isn’t playing up to its capacity, the Nuggets flashed an ability to win “ugly,” as in, with its defense.

Caldwell-Pope, deemed “one of the premier two-way players in this league,” by Nuggets coach Michael Malone, was brought to Denver for the postseason. With all due respect to Monte Morris and Will Barton, who were traded for the 10-year veteran, Caldwell-Pope’s impact has been profound. Nuggets GM Calvin Booth admired his two-way potential, veteran leadership and championship experience.

All three have manifested in myriad ways in Denver’s locker room. Murray credited Caldwell-Pope for using his voice, communicating in huddles and through defensive schemes. He said Caldwell-Pope helped keep them “grounded,” when shots weren’t falling or when Devin Booker caught a rhythm. Perhaps most importantly, Murray said Caldwell-Pope conveyed the mental strength it takes to win in the postseason, or, on Monday, to bury 3-pointers when the rest of the squad had gone cold.