“ It's true ? », Mike Malone pretends not to know, when a journalist points out to him that his Nuggets were up to 32 points behind last night against the Wolves. Yes, it's true.
While they had to react after a first round already lost at home, the reigning champions fell heavily, with 26 points behind in the end, against a team deprived of its best defender, Rudy Gobert.
“ They kicked our ass “, the Nuggets coach reacts hotlybelieving that his troop had been “ embarrassed » in front of his supporters. The statistics speak for themselves: only 80 points scored, 35% shooting success, more balls lost (19) than assists generated (16)…
The shift at the end of the first quarter
And body language not where Mike Malone thinks ” that it should be », Not to mention the frustration displayed by Jamal Murray in particular. The technician agrees, the opposing defense was complicated to tackle. “ They were more aggressive, more physical… “, remarks Nikola Jokic according to whom he and his teammates could have sometimes done “ more confidence in passing “.
The Serbian does not take any pinches in summarizing this meeting: “ There was only one team on the floor after this first quarter. » First twelve minutes also singled out for his coach. This reminds us that the Nuggets conceded two baskets in a row at the end of this quarter, to finish eight points behind (20-28), rather than four.
Behind, the visitors went on an 11-0 run to start the next period. “ This is where the match got away from us », Judges the coach, whose team then found itself trailing by 19 points, then by 26 points at the break (35-61). The largest deficit in Denver history in a home playoff game.
To look at oneself in the mirror
A gap that will remain until the end, a sign that the Nuggets have their work cut out for them to return to this series. After this heavy defeat, their locker room was logically “ very, very calm », Reports their coach.
“ The positive is that we don't play again until Friday, we have a chance to distance ourselves and think about what we want to do next. I don't care about anything other than trying to win Game 3. And really trying to win the first quarter of Game 3 », insists Mike Malone.
He adds : ” With a defeat like that, you feel embarrassed, vulnerable. So what are you going to do with this? Look in the mirror, with the guts, the courage to look in the mirror and say: 'I didn't do my job tonight.' And be better in the next match. That's all I can ask of them. »
Asked about the reaction capacity of his teammates and him, Nikola Jokic was less enthusiastic. “ I don’t know… we’ll see in three, four days? », he blurted, turning towards his clan without being sure when the next match would take place.
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Nikola Jokic | 79 | 34.6 | 58.3 | 35.9 | 81.7 | 2.8 | 9.5 | 12.4 | 9.0 | 3.0 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 26.4 |
| Jamal Murray | 59 | 31.5 | 48.1 | 42.5 | 85.3 | 0.7 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 6.5 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 21.2 |
| Michael Porter, Jr. | 81 | 31.7 | 48.4 | 39.7 | 83.6 | 1.3 | 5.7 | 7.0 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 16.7 |
| Aaron Gordon | 73 | 31.5 | 55.6 | 29.0 | 65.8 | 2.4 | 4.1 | 6.5 | 3.5 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 13.9 |
| Reggie Jackson | 82 | 22.2 | 43.1 | 35.9 | 80.6 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 3.8 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 10.2 |
| Kentavious Caldwell-pope | 76 | 31.6 | 46.0 | 40.6 | 89.4 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 10.1 |
| Christian Braun | 82 | 20.2 | 46.0 | 38.4 | 69.4 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 7.3 |
| Peyton Watson | 80 | 18.6 | 46.5 | 29.6 | 67.0 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 6.7 |
| Julian Strawther | 50 | 10.9 | 36.9 | 29.7 | 71.0 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 4.5 |
| Justin Holiday | 58 | 14.9 | 45.4 | 40.4 | 75.0 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 4.0 |
| Deandre Jordan | 36 | 11.0 | 62.4 | 0.0 | 49.1 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 4.4 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 3.9 |
| Colin Gillespie | 24 | 9.4 | 46.4 | 39.5 | 66.7 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 3.6 |
| Zeke Nnaji | 58 | 9.9 | 46.3 | 26.1 | 67.7 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 3.2 |
| Jalen Pickett | 27 | 4.5 | 42.9 | 36.0 | 75.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.6 |
| James Huff | 20 | 2.5 | 60.0 | 33.3 | 100.0 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.2 |
| Hunter Tyson | 18 | 2.7 | 40.0 | 28.6 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 1.1 |
| Braxton Key | 20 | 3.0 | 41.2 | 40.0 | 75.0 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.1 |
