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All three team leaders, from coach Malone to two stars Jokic and Murray, expressed their pride despite the Game 5 loss to the Lakers. “I couldn’t have asked for anything more from this group,” the Nuggets coach said. “We will remember these playoffs for the rest of our lives,” Jokic said.
In the seventh elimination match in the bubble, eventually the Denver Nuggets went down. Having avoided seeing the end of their season in the final siren six times (three against Utah, three against the Clippers), in Game 5 against the Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike Malone’s team had to surrender to the overwhelming power of LeBron James, author of 16 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter. “We face a player for whom this is all routine, this is a bit of comfort“Said the Nuggets coach after the loss. “My challenge for this group is to play it againThe word “group” is the one that comes up the most in Malone’s final speech, showering his boys with praise for how they behaved in the bubble. earn the respect of the entire NBA with your ability to react to any adversity. “What more can you ask a group for? How much more effort or sacrifice could you ask for after what this team has been through in the 82 days we’ve been here? We have faced all adversities without even running away, in fact accepting them.. From the point of view of pride, I couldn’t be more proud”.
Another return of the Nuggets, this time without a happy ending
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The Nuggets proved to be special in race 5 too, coming back 16 points behind in the third quarter until the challenge is equal. Lighting the wick was a flagrant foul whistled by Dwight Howard for a shoulder to Paul Millsap, exactly as it happened with Marcus Morris in race 5 of the series with the Clippers: thereafter Jerami Grant scored 14 of her last 20 points in the split until the score was tied at 87, before an Anthony Davis 3-pointer sent the Lakers ahead of the final long break. In the fourth period, LeBron James did what he does LeBron James – took control of operations and never allowed the Nuggets to get close, finishing with a triple-double of 38 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. That the Denver players have earned the King’s respect is also attested by final salutes, during which James stopped by both to greet Jamal Murray and to speak at length with Grant..
The words of Jokic and Murray: “We will come back stronger”
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Denver still made it to the fourth quarter to play it a hit in the last three games of the series (“Race-1 eliminated, the other three were a draw: the series is much more open than 3-1 ”, Malone had said before the reunion) despite the problems of his two stars. Nikola Jokic had to deal with foul problems again, committing the third in the second quarter and playing at the end less than 30 minutes, in which he still scored 20 points. Jamal murray scored 19 but was obviously in trouble after what he called a postgame foot contusion. However, both expressed their appreciation for what they lived together: “We will remember these playoffs for the rest of our lives.Jokic said. “We have a great group of guys who want to fight. We won six elimination games And even today we didn’t give up, even if they were better and won. Our mentality should remain this also for the next few years: don’t give up, commit and give yourself a chance to win“” I would have expected things to turn out differently, “said Murray, who closed these playoffs with 504 points, a new franchise record ahead of Jokic’s 464, Carmelo Anthony’s 435 in 2009 and Alex English’s 423 in 1985. “But I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished. However, we know that it is not the end goal: we will come back even stronger next year”.
