By now, the numbers are but an ancient rune, just a few weeks, but a world of difference separating this version of Christian Braun from his 23-year-old self.<\/p>\n
19:46.<\/p>\n
They sat, a stark reminder, on the background of Braun\u2019s phone in Los Angeles after the Nuggets dropped Game 6 to the Clippers. The total amount of game clock that he spent on the floor in a crushing Game 7 elimination last year against Minnesota. 19 minutes and 46 seconds. Five points. Yanked for ex-Nugget Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for a crucial fourth-quarter stretch. Frustration.<\/p>\n
But a year around the sun brought him back to another Game 7, a campaign for a Most Improved Player behind him despite little signs of age in his youthful face, and forward Peyton Watson imparted a few positive affirmations before Saturday\u2019s contest.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust telling him that, it\u2019s gonna be a big game for him,\u201d Watson recalled Saturday night to The Denver Post. \u201cAnd that \u2014 how much I know he\u2019s a gamer. And that he is that guy, and we needed him to step up big.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
For an entire series, Braun and Clippers star James Harden were at each other\u2019s throats. Braun assumed the challenge of guarding a near-unguardable guard, thrust into the role of de facto point-of-attack defender after Caldwell-Pope\u2019s offseason departure. Harden got in Braun\u2019s face in Game 4, built-up frustration releasing after a take foul<\/a>. Underlying tension continued to simmer in Game 7, Braun bumping chests with Harden in picking him up full-court after a leak-out in the first quarter.<\/p>\n And this time, this Game 7, Braun proved himself irreplaceable. He provided near-constant shots of adrenaline and stifled the Clippers\u2019 star to a grand total of seven points in Denver\u2019s 120-101 closeout win.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to be more,\u201d Braun said of last year\u2019s loss to the Timberwolves. \u201cAnd everybody wants to play more. But I just thought that in that game, I felt like I was playing well and wanted to play more minutes.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd everybody wants that, everybody in the league wants that, and I got that,\u201d he continued, referencing the Clippers\u2019 closeout. \u201cThat\u2019s exactly what I wanted, and those guys trusted me \u2014 they have all year \u2014 but they trusted me in that moment. So, this is the exact moment I was looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n The moments piled up on Saturday. He gave the Nuggets some early life on a flurry of cuts as offensive engines Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray sputtered to an 0-of-9 start. He locked Harden up on a final Clippers possession at the end of the quarter, aided by a Murray double-team. He hit two big third-quarter 3s as the Nuggets blitzed the Clippers out of the break, he and Russell Westbrook nailing timely shots and buoying Ball Arena\u2019s crowd with sheer effervescence in the process<\/a>.<\/p>\n Braun\u2019s shot has been a season-long topic of discussion in his development. He came into Saturday shooting 25% from 3 against the Clippers and was 1 of 7 in Game 4.<\/p>\n Jokic, though, loved that 1 of 7. That\u2019s the best thing, he recalled telling Braun. He has encouraged confidence in outside looks from Braun all season.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, winner,\u201d Jokic said of Braun postgame. \u201cWe know that he is a 50-50 player. The ball is always in his hands. All the dirty, all the small plays that you don\u2019t, guys see it, it\u2019s not in the stats.\u201d<\/p>\n The stats, though, also showed 3 of 5 from deep and 21 points Saturday, part of a supplemental cast of Nuggets that shouldered a massive load with Jokic and Murray struggling early. And Braun will be equally important on both ends against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the coming days. His assignment: a player in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who Jokic called \u201cunguardable, basically.\u201d<\/p>\n Once again, come Monday, Braun will be largely tasked with guarding the unguardable.\u00a0He\u2019s proven, at least, that he deserves the chance.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s aggressive, he\u2019s annoying, and he knows what to do,\u201d Jokic said. \u201cAnd he accepts the role because he\u2019s a winner.\u201d<\/p>\n