Nikola Jokic, the center of the Denver Nuggets, spoke after the tough loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves with a score of 106:80.
He began his address to the media very decisively. When asked what motivates him at this moment, he had a specific answer. He then complimented the “Wolves.”
“That’s a good question, my friend! Maybe wins? Yes, I think that’s the answer. They’ve been playing very well all season, especially on defense. Their entire lineup is very aggressive, they know what they’re doing. That’s why it’s tough to score against them. I hope we’ll fight back and regain the break,” Nikola Jokic started.
After that, in Serbian, he explained what led to the defeat:
“It was a tough game for us. I can’t say they surprised us because they didn’t do anything new. They’ve been like that all season. We couldn’t find easy shooting positions, while they did and made their shots. We shot only 34 percent. Their defense and the way they’re built, with everyone tall and capable of defending.
If you watched the previous series of the Minnesota Timberwolves against the Phoenix Suns, they’re like that, they ‘get into your body,’ play very good defense all season, that’s why they’re the number one defense. Everyone in their starting five is aggressive, they know what they’re doing, and that’s why it’s hard to score against them.”
He also talked about the second quarter, where the score was 61:35:
“They have a talented group of players. We didn’t help ourselves; we had 16 turnovers, we didn’t have good ball movement. Even though we knew they were strong, we went into crowded spaces with multiple defenders, and we really hurt ourselves,” Jokic concluded.