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Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone was concerned his starting five, outside of Nikola Jokic, started cold to start Game 2. Only the two-time MVP was in double figures with 13 while the rest struggled.
Malone was visibly upset by something else and he showed it in the postgame interview:
“I was talking about effort. This is the NBA Finals and we’re talking about effort. That’s a huge concern of mine. … Tonight, the starting lineup to start the game was 10-2 Miami. To start the third quarter, they scored 11 points in 2:10.
“We had guys out there that were just feeling sorry for themselves for not making shots, or thinking that they could just turn it on or off. This is not the preseason, this is not the regular season. This is the NBA Finals! That to me is really perplexing, disappointing."
Max Strus waxed hot early in the first quarter, hitting 3-4 three-pointers to give the Miami Heat an early 10-2 lead. The start of the third quarter was more of the same quick start from the visiting team. They opened with two Gabe Vincent three-pointers, a Kevin Love triple and two Bam Adebayo point-blank layups.
Only a basket from Nikola Jokic and a dunk by Aaron Gordon kept the Heat from running away to start the third period.
The Denver Nuggets led 83-75 heading into the fourth period. And like on cue, the Miami Heat rinsed and repeated what happened in the first and third quarters. Duncan Robinson, who was scoreless in six minutes before the final period, had 10 points in the first two minutes of the said quarter.
Miami turned their deficit into an 88-85 lead. They never looked back from there.
Malone added that the Denver Nuggets knew why they lost and vowed to be better.
“Miami came in here and outworked us. We were by far [played] our least disciplined game of these 16 or 17 playoff games, whatever it is now.
“If we’re gonna try to go down there [Miami] and regain control of the series and get home-court advantage back, we’re gonna have to outwork Miami, which we didn’t do tonight, and our discipline’s gonna be off the charts.”
The Denver Nuggets were still in the game despite their lackadaisical effort
There are no moral victories in any basketball game, let alone in the NBA finals. But despite the Denver Nuggets’ lethargic effort, according to Mike Malone, they were in it until the final buzzer. Jamal Murray’s potential game-tying three-pointer fell just a little too short to send the game to overtime.
Malone insisted and reminded his players after their win in the series opener that they didn’t play well. He also stressed that they haven’t accomplished anything yet. With the way they showed effort tonight, those words didn’t make an impact at all.
The Denver Nuggets have to heed his call and play with more sense of urgency than they’ve ever done in the playoffs. They are facing a Heat team that eliminated the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics, teams the Nuggets were supposed to have a harder time beating.
Miami isn’t invincible at home. The Celtics beat them in two close-out games at Kaseya Center. The Denver Nuggets can do the same thing, but they will have to outwork a team that’s been a workhorse throughout the playoffs.
