The Denver Nuggets stunningly tied up their second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, following a 115-107 win in Game 4. The Nuggets had been written off by many after they went down 2-0 and after this win on Sunday, head coach Michael Malone sent out a message by bringing up Rudy Tomjanovich's iconic quote.
"What I found is Rudy T is right, man," Malone said. "Never underestimate the heart of a champion. They were quick to write us off, but these guys won a championship a year ago. We went into Miami and won two games in a row. This team has been tested time and time again and we found a way to solve whatever's been thrown at us.
"This series is a long way from being over, we're not celebrating," Malone continued. "It's 2-2, so now you have to find a way to win Game 5. But what I've found about our group is that they do believe in themselves and more importantly, they believe in the man next to them.
"We have a group, that is acting as you would hope a championship team would act," Malone stated. "They had a bad game, we owned it and we moved past it and we played better."
I must admit, I was one of those who had somewhat written off the Nuggets. I wouldn't have been too concerned had those first two games been in Minnesota, but they were in Denver.
Only five teams in NBA history have come back to win a best-of-seven playoff series after losing the first two games at home. It just isn't something that we have seen happen all that often.
The Nuggets had to win at least two out of three games in Minnesota to win this series and I thought they wouldn't be able to pull that off. Yes, they had beaten the Miami Heat on the road twice in the NBA Finals last year, as Malone mentioned, but I felt the Timberwolves presented a much tougher challenge. Well, they proved me wrong in some style and have to be favorites now to advance.
Michael Malone's Incredible Breakdown Of Nikola Jokic And Jamal Murray's 2-Man Game
A big reason why the Nuggets fell down 2-0 was that the Timberwolves had managed to slow down Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. The two stars just could not get it going, but their two-man game was on point in Game 4. Malone was asked what led to that and he gave quite a response.
"I attribute it to eight years of experience," Malone said. "Those guys I think have long been elite in terms of their two-man game efficiency, their ability to read each other, play off of each other, read the defense, so I think the experience is a big part of it. And you have two guys that they don't care who gets the shot. They're going to read the situation, make the right play.
"They have a lot of really good defenders that are long and all over Jamal," Malone stated. "His ability to find Nikola in the pocket and when that happens, that's kind of like unlocking the Rubik's Cube, anything can happen after that. When Nikola has the ball in the pocket, it's lob, it's kickout three, or it's one of the most patented, most efficient floaters in the NBA, so that's always something we try to go to."
Jokic would finish the game with 35 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block while Murray had 19 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals. The Timberwolves were not able to find an answer for them in Game 4 and they'll have to make some kind of adjustment if they are to win this series.
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