![]() “Whether it's 41 points, only four assists, or it's 25 points and 15 assists, Nikola, one thing I trust about him is he's going to make the right read time and time again.” He's going to read how he's being guarded, and he's also going to pick his spots where he knows regardless of how he's being guarded, we need him to score and be aggressive and look to score,” Malone said. Jokic’s play is the least of the concerns. Malone was most concerned with his team’s lack of effort and discipline. Jokic’s four assists are the fewest he’s had in a game this postseason, but that didn’t seem to be the issue. They have so many different actions that just get you compromised.” You can't just say, ‘Oh, make him a scorer.’ That's not how they play. You know, twice in two seasons he's been the best player on this planet. “That's the untrained eye that says something like that,” Spoelstra said. Miami coach Erik Spoelstra also shot down the notion that the way to beat the Nuggets is to let Jokic have a big scoring night and keep everyone else in check. We've got to play all the way through, through ups and downs, stay together and play with intensity and energy, and I don't think we had that.” “We've just got to have an all-around game. It's defense and discipline,” Murray said. “I don't think it has anything to do with that. Prior to Sunday, the last time the Nuggets lost a playoff game was Game 4 in Phoenix when Jokic scored a career-high 53 points. The Nuggets got a stop and produced a shot to tie the game just before the buzzer, but Murray’s step-back 3 missed. Jokic’s final bucket, a floater with 35.6 seconds left, made it a three-point game. Jamal Murray finished as Denver’s second-leading scorer with 18 points, six of which came in the final three minutes. “I was just playing, and I don't think, when I'm playing, about stats or whatever,” Jokic said Jokic added 10 more in the fourth to finish another big scoring night. With Jokic on the bench, Miami reserve Duncan Robinson outscored the Nuggets 8-2 in the first 1:10 of the fourth, cutting Denver’s lead to two and prompting Malone to take a timeout to get Jokic back in the game. There was no breathing room 70 seconds later. “I was just trying to score, simple as that.” A free throw was the final point of Jokic’s 18-point third quarter. Instead of running with Jokic, Zeller grabbed his arm and took the foul. ![]() A possession later, Jokic grabbed a defensive rebound and looked to be off to the races again. When Christian Braun poked the ball away from Bam Adebayo with just over a minute left in the third, Jokic scooped up the ball, sprinted down the court and finished through a crowd of defenders. ![]() A couple of possessions later, Jokic muscled past Miami’s back-up center for a three-point play.Īfter displaying his strength, Jokic showed off his speed and endurance. With the Nuggets up three in the final three minutes of the third, Jokic went through Zeller for a short hook shot. “It kind of got us a little bit of rhythm going into that fourth quarter, gave us a little bit of breathing room.”įirst, Denver’s dominant point center used his size to bully Cody Zeller. “The way Nikola closed that third quarter was tremendous,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |