Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets shoots the ball between Dennis Schroder and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers through the third quarter in sport one of many Western Conference Finals at Ball Arena on May 16, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. (Getty Images through AFP)
LOS ANGELES – Denver coach Michael Malone thinks the world ought to get up to the greatness of two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic and his Nuggets teammates — who by the way have a 2-0 lead over the Los Angeles Lakers within the Western Conference finals.
But if a media highlight on the Lakers motivates his crew, that’s OK too.
“Whatever we can use for motivation,” Malone stated after the Nuggets erased an 11-point deficit to beat the Lakers 108-103 in sport two at Ball Arena in Denver on Thursday.
That adopted a 132-126 victory in sport one, through which the Nuggets constructed a commanding lead solely to seek out themselves preventing off the surging Lakers within the fourth quarter.
“You win game one of the (Western Conference Finals) and all everybody talked about was the Lakers,” Malone stated.
“Let’s be honest, that was the national narrative, (it) was hey, the Lakers are fine. They’re down 1-0 but they figured something out. No one talked about Nikola who just had a historic performance.”
Malone famous that Jokic’s 13 profession playoff triple-doubles put him third all-time behind Magic Johnson (30) and LeBron James (28).
“What he’s doing is just incredible,” Malone stated of the Serbian star.
“But the narrative wasn’t in regards to the Nuggets, the narrative wasn’t about Nikola. The narrative was in regards to the Lakers and their changes.
“You put that in your pipe, you smoke it and you come back and you know what… we’re going to go up 2-0.”
While Jokic got here via with one more triple-double, it was Jamal Murray’s 23-point fourth-quarter explosion that carried the Nuggets previous the Lakers on Thursday.
Murray stated the top-seeded Nuggets aren’t involved about being ignored in opposition to the glamorous Lakers franchise led by the celebrity duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis and gunning for a file 18th NBA crown.
“The outside noise is the outside noise,” Murray stated. “We’re the Denver Nuggets, we’re used to that.
“Even when we win, they talk about the other team. Same old, same old. It fuels us a little more and will be sweeter when we win the chip.”
Despite his bravado, Malone stated the Nuggets have been keenly conscious because the sequence shifts to Los Angeles on Saturday that the toughest work stays.
“We haven’t done anything yet,” Malone stated. “You’ve bought to win a sport on the opposite crew’s residence court docket in the event you actually need to do one thing in a sequence. We know the way nice that crew is, particularly on their residence court docket.
“We’re not celebrating,” Malone stated. “This is not cause for celebration. This is a cause to continue to dig deep and find ways to be better.”
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