“We had guys out there that were just whether feeling sorry for themselves for not making shots or thinking they can just turn it on or off, this is not the preseason, this is not the regular season.” - Michael Malone after Nuggets' loss By msinger
“Let’s talk about effort,” Malone said after Miami seized Game 2 with a 111-108 win, snatching homecourt advantage in the process. “This is the NBA Finals, we are talking about effort; that’s a huge concern of mine.”tempted to deem the series over after Game 1 when he insisted the Nuggets didn’t play well. But Sunday reaffirmed the defensive lapses he’d seen when he professed concern.
It took a herculean effort from Nikola Jokic in the third quarter – he scored 18 points to give the Nuggets a brief lead – but Denver didn’t approach the fourth quarter with any sense of urgency. A 13-2 run to start, propelled again by disengaged 3-point defense, foreshadowed an embarrassing defensive showing in the fourth quarter. Miami reeled off 36 points in the final quarter on 69% shooting. The Nuggets were less than 12 minutes away from a 2-0 lead before the wheels fell off.
Max Strus and Gabe Vincent sunk four 3-pointers each. Duncan Robinson and Kyle Lowry sunk two each, as did Kevin Love. They were the result of slow rotations, lethargic closeouts, assignment breakdowns and disrespecting shooters.
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