MINNEAPOLIS — The strength of the wolf is the pack. The strength of the champ is the heart.

Isn’t it time the Nuggets punched back?

The math demands it. The Nuggets enter Game 3 facing a two-game deficit with critics calling them a one-hit wonder. Eleven months ago, the Nuggets made history, winning their first title. Now, suddenly, they are Dexys Midnight Runners or Soft Cell?

I refuse to believe it.

I do not give the Nuggets much chance of winning the series against the Minnesota Timberwolves — we will know by halftime Friday if there is a sliver of hope — but I do expect them to play with passion, pride and purpose.

Stop crying foul more than Chick-fil-A. The NBA clearly decided internally that the playoffs were not going to look like the All-Star Game or the first half of the season. Want an unobstructed path to the rim? Go to Dave & Buster’s. Desire to be guarded without contact? Hire the Secret Service.

The refs are letting them play. It feels jarring, if not unfair. Such is life. Enough with the grousing. Time to start competing in a way worthy of the banner that hangs at Ball Arena.

That’s what we all want to see. It is difficult to maintain a razor’s edge after winning a ring. I covered the 2016 Broncos. They struggled with their identity once they sat on the throne. They were pulled in a million directions, coach Gary Kubiak battled a medical condition, Peyton Manning retired and they lost multiple players, among them fang-bearing defensive end Malik Jackson. They missed the playoffs. Haven’t been back since.

The Nuggets are different. Their starting five, considered the NBA’s best, returned. And while Jamal “Onto Minnesota” Murray is compromised by a left calf injury, the Nuggets have no excuses. So, their bench is weak. So what? Are we really going to let the absence of Bruce Brown and Uncle Jeff Green provide a pass for what has happened in this series?

Please.

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