After a 23-point loss in Game 1, Denver Nuggets manager Mike Malone said his squad got a whole new look and energy on Saturday as it recovered to win Game 2 110-101 and even its streak. playoffs with the LA Clippers.
“I thought we were a considerably different team tonight than we were in Game 1,” said Malone. “Our defense, our business and the fact that we were willing to help each other.”
After a grueling seven-game streak in the first round with the Utah Jazz, the Nuggets showed clear signs of fatigue in Game 1 of the Western Conference semi-finals after only having a day off. Though Denver center Nikola Jokic said he “wasn’t tired at all” after the opening, Malone admitted there were heavy legs, and guard Jamal Murray admitted he was exhausted from the previous series.
“Game 1, we were tired. I hate to admit it,” Murray said in his postgame interview with TNT.
Murray played 40 minutes in Game 2, scoring 27 points out of 10 out of 21, shooting and recording six assists. He said not playing in the fourth quarter of Game 1 and having the day off on Friday helped him get his legs back.
“It could be said that Jamal was much more rested tonight than in race 1,” said Malone.
After Game 1, Malone focused on the Nuggets’ bad job of holding the ball, saying it was a “layup line” for the Clippers. According to data from Second Spectrum, the Nuggets allowed 59 points directly on 57 drives in the first contest. In Race 2, they allowed 39 direct points on 51 drives.
“Our energy, we had good energy,” Murray said when asked what was the biggest change between games. “We talked more, we helped more, our one-on-one defense was better. We were shooting. There wasn’t a big difference between Game 1 and Game 2. We just shot and went out with the right energy.”
Malone credited striker Jerami Grant and guard Gary Harris for their defensive efforts, particularly in their bouts with Clippers stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. It was an unusually off night for Leonard (13 out of 4 out of 17), and George finished with 22 out of 7 out of 19.
It was the lowest scoring game this season for the Clippers, with their worst shooting rates from the field and over the 3-point line and the most turnovers. In Race 1, Leonard had seven blow-by, but he had zero in Race 2, according to Second Spectrum.
The notable difference in the Nuggets was evident from the tip, as they passed the Clippers 44-25 in the first quarter. There was little response for the Murray-Jokic pick-and-roll, with Jokic posting a massive 26-point, 18-rebound play line 2. Murray and Jokic joined for 26 of Denver’s 44 points in the first quarter.
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, it was the Nuggets’ first wire-to-wire victory in a playoff game since 2013 against the Golden State Warriors.
“The big emphasis of Game 1 was that the game was going on, we got up, the ball didn’t move, the bodies didn’t move. We just got off and settled,” Malone said. “We didn’t make their defense work at all.
“Tonight I felt there was a distinct difference in our approach, in our energy, in our movement. And we made ourselves much harder to defend.”
Despite a big head start for the Nuggets on Saturday, the Clippers increased their energy, forcing turnovers and picking up offensive rebounds to make a late push and pressure Denver to close.
“We’ve won a lot of close matches over the past five years,” Malone said. “Our group believes in itself. We have proven to be a resilient group that can perform and find ways to win in close matches along the stretch. It’s great to be able to bond the series and have that life and belief that come into it. game. the next game. “
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