2-0 lead over the Los Angeles Lakers within the Western Conference finals.<\/a><\/p>\nBut if a media highlight on the Lakers motivates his crew, that\u2019s OK too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever we can use for motivation,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou win game one of the (Western Conference Finals) and all everybody talked about was the Lakers,\u201d Malone stated.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s be honest, that was the national narrative, (it) was hey, the Lakers are fine. They\u2019re down 1-0 but they figured something out. No one talked about Nikola who just had a historic performance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Malone famous that Jokic\u2019s 13 profession playoff triple-doubles put him third all-time behind Magic Johnson (30) and LeBron James (28).<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat he\u2019s doing is just incredible,\u201d Malone stated of the Serbian star.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the narrative wasn\u2019t in regards to the Nuggets, the narrative wasn\u2019t about Nikola. The narrative was in regards to the Lakers and their changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou put that in your pipe, you smoke it and you come back and you know what\u2026 we\u2019re going to go up 2-0.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Jokic got here via with one more triple-double, it was Jamal Murray\u2019s 23-point fourth-quarter explosion that carried the Nuggets previous the Lakers on Thursday.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe outside noise is the outside noise,\u201d Murray stated. \u201cWe\u2019re the Denver Nuggets, we\u2019re used to that.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t done anything yet,\u201d Malone stated. \u201cYou\u2019ve bought to win a sport on the opposite crew\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not celebrating,\u201d Malone stated. \u201cThis is not cause for celebration. This is a cause to continue to dig deep and find ways to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n
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