Angry after Game 2 NBA Finals, coach Denver Nuggets criticized his students for not making efforts and lack of discipline
After winning Game 1, Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone kept his feet on the ground. He thinks that the Nuggets have not done anything and need to be careful because the Miami Heat almost let the Miami Heat make a comeback in the 4th round.
By Game 2, what Coach Malone feared had come true. The Denver Nuggets entered the fourth quarter with an eight-point lead, but that advantage soon dissipated after the Miami Heat's 15-2 run. Although the home team had a 41-point match from Nikola Jokic, they still lost Game 2 with a final score of 111-108.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the performance of the Denver Nuggets, coach Michael Malone frankly criticized that this was the NBA final but the students still played without discipline.
“It's in the NBA Finals and I still have to talk about discipline, about the spirit of the players. That's not okay. This is our most undisciplined match in this entire Playoffs, 17 matches have been played and this is the worst match," the 51-year-old captain shared at the press conference.
“I asked the team why they lost and they knew the answer. Miami came here, our home ground and played better, the dispute was more active and bloodier. We made a lot of mistakes and each time they made perfect use of each to score points.”
Coach Michael Malone has the right to be dissatisfied, especially when his players have dropped the game at a crucial moment, exactly as he warned after Game 1.
The Miami Heat started Game 2 well and took a 21-10 lead in the first half. Then the Denver Nuggets responded with a 35-11 run to take a 15-point lead back in the second half.
After the 3rd half struggled and choked with 8 points in the lead belonging to Denver, Miami opened the 4th half with a series of 15-2 points. Duncan Robinson is scoring 10 points on this run (4-4 FG, 2-2 3PT).
The Heat's sublime minutes were followed by Jimmy Butler's quality 4 consecutive FG series. From there, the visitors overcame Nikola Jokic's 41-point match and Jamal Murray's impressive 3-point series, equaling the NBA Finals 2023 series score.
With a 1-1 draw, the NBA finals series will move to Miami with two extremely watchable matches. Heat will have the home field advantage after successfully robbing an away game. Game 3 of the NBA Finals 2023 will take place at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 8.
