Mike Malone, head coach of the Denver Nuggets, was visibly frustrated after the defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA playoffs.
The Los Angeles Lakers triumphed by 119:108, thereby avoiding the sweep and reducing the series deficit to 3-1. After the game, Malone spoke to the media about the crucial aspect of the loss for Nikola Jokic and the team.
“Joke. That’s how I would describe our defense in the paint. I sounded like a broken record in every timeout and team gathering. I kept repeating, ‘paint, paint, paint.’ In the third game, we gave up 70 points in the paint, but we found a way to win. Now the Los Angeles Lakers have scored an incredible 72 points under our basket.
That’s an unbelievable number. I don’t think we showed enough aggressiveness and had the right approach, especially defensively. We weren’t even close to winning this game,” said Mike Malone.
This was the first win for the Los Angeles Lakers after a staggering 11 consecutive losses against the Denver Nuggets. With the current NBA champions leading 3-1, the series now shifts to Colorado.