Coach Malone Full Post Game Press Conference vs. Warriors 🎙

Coach Malone Full Post Game Press Conference vs. Warriors 🎙

Coach that was the first time under Steve Kerr that a team has swept the warriors with Steph playing in all four games and I just am wondering your thoughts on the effort and the discipline that it takes to be able to accomplish something like that yeah I

Mean it’s um we know that Steph is you know uh one of the greatest to ever do it and we know what that team presents in terms of all the problems um but what I was most proud about tonight aside from winning of course was just we’re down 16 in that

Second quarter and when we play Golden State we do things differently you know this is not our standard defense we try to do things differently because of who they are and their personnel and so they’re going to be some breakdowns and their were but for us to close that

Second quarter 14 to zero tie it up at half and then start the Third on a 14-4 run that’s a 28-4 run in their building after being down 16 that’s what I’m most proud about we had a lot of guys Nia I mean another triple double he was outstanding tonight

326 16 four steals one block five deflections I thought nicoa was just uh once again showcased why he’s the best player in the NBA but Jamal Murray’s contributions I felt uh I thought Zeke Naji Christian Brown Off the Bench um you don’t beat a team like that AG 17

Pope the defense he played on a guy like Steph Curry it’s not just one guy but uh our guys just were were locked in and to start off three and0 post Allstar Break um I couldn’t be more proud of our group U Michael for Zeke and Christian how

Important just was sort of the energy that they gave in the fourth quarter in particular you guys only gave up 16 in that quarter as you sort of pulled away yeah 16 and and 29% from the field in that fourth quarter so uh your fourth quarter is when you want your defense to

Be at its best and it was for us tonight um and I I felt you know we started Jamal Aaron and Michael to start the fourth quarter and when I had uh CB and Zeke out there I thought they played really really hard but also efficient

And effective uh CB made a big three Zeke on the glass um I thought both of their defense was uh was outstanding and that’s important you know to play fourth quarter meaningful minutes um you know this hasn’t been an easy year for Zeke Naji but I’m really proud of him for

Staying with it and playing at the level he’s played at in the last three games and um you know he’s only going to continue to get better for us clay Thomson came out of the bench tonight for the game how did that change the Dynam dynamics of the game for Game

Preparation and it’s a great performance by the Nuggets but the bench points Warriors do all score nuggets is that a future concern for you U well as far as clay you know we knew he was coming off the bench and um obviously he was shooting a flamethrower in that first

Half you know he had I think all 23 of his points were in the first half so the fact in the second half we kind of locked in and eliminated the his impact Back Off the Bench was a huge reason why we were able to win this game cuz in

That first half he got whatever he wanted um as far as the bench points I I don’t really worry about the bench points I worry about their defense I worry about their rebounding and their disposition and I thought it was where it needed to be tonight also it’s a

Seven consecutive wins against the Warriors is there any extra motivations like when playing against the Warriors no no uh we we get up for each opponent that we play um we know in this building against that team we know what they’re capable of and we know that they’re also

A highly motivated team right now trying to make a run to get out of the play in and try to get into the uh the top six but um we we get up for everybody that we play we know that as a reigning world champions we’re going to get the best no

Matter who we’re playing and now we have to go home get some rest and get ready for a home and home back to back Michael over um in the last few games with Zeke it feels like you’ve paired him with a little bit more size whether it’s mpj or

Tonight he played alongside Aaron and Nia do you feel like that’s unlocked anything for Zeke or made life easier for him at all well I I think anybody playing with Nicole is going to make life easier for them because Nicole is just such a great player and he makes

Everyone around him better uh we went big tonight with that second unit thank you I’m dying up here uh we went big because we getting our ass kicked on the glass I mean they were uh first half I’m not sure how many offensive rebounds they have but they had the line share of

Their 11 in that first half so just having size out there with Zeke and Aaron um you know that that group was able to prod uh provide productive minutes for us to your left here coach you mentioned that you have some special rules going against the Warriors you’ve been able to

Have some great defensive stretches in this building I think it was a 264 run uh last time you played here to take the win in the fourth quarter this time 140 you had had some stretches where you really be able to play great defense against so what’s been the key to

Improving your defense against this team as we’ve faced them over the years well it’s easier said than done but the message to our guys is always the same no matter what we’re doing you have to find a way to limit the three I mean coming into tonight their last five

Games they were making 17 and a half threes per game and shooting over 40% so to hold them to 11 of 34 and only 32% that’s why you beat them if you let Steph and clay and uh pamy and all those other guys get going from

Three that game can get away from you in a hurry so we do some different things to try to eliminate that our guys have bought in we beat them four times this year that’s great but um you know there’s a lot of things that we can still clean up going off that last

Question and you kind of answered if you will I thought the game change for you guys that last run of the second quarter last three minutes of the second quarter you out scor him four 14 to nothing what what happened differently in that section do you feel that kind of

Turned the whole momentum of the game well I you go back to the last time we played here and we closed the game on a I don’t know 25 to four run whatever it was to win the game at the buzzer and for me I I think some people can get

Caught up into what you’re doing defensively what you’re doing offensively I think the deeper and more important question is how you’re doing it and I felt for the first quarter and a half they were the aggressor they had us on our heels and we were reacting to

Everything they did and I think for us to close out 140 and then the start the third 14 to4 I think we kind of flipped the switch and we became the aggressor on both ends and uh stopped thinking and started playing with an attack mindset and an aggressive mindset and I think

That’s when we’re at our best it’s not about are you switching are you showing are you blitzing it’s how you do those things and I felt that intense level and our aggression definitely picked up coach can you talk about just how uh uh Jamal’s been fighting through this

Season uh injury-wise and had a nice night tonight um just the strength he’s shown this season and just the challenges he’s overcoming yeah I mean uh just so proud of Jamal Murray one of the tougher guys I’ve ever been around physically tough mentally tough and um

You know he’s dealing with an injury you know and that’s why obviously he wasn’t able to play in the Portland game so we have to be aware of that and make sure we’re doing everything we can to protect him as we move forward with these final 24 games going into the postseason uh

But Jamal’s a gamer he’s tough uh lives for the moment makes and takes big big shots and the reality is this you know we win a championship last year and I understand NOA finals MVP NOA Western conf uh Conference Finals MVP uh we don’t win a championship without Jamal

Murray there were games in that stretch run where we went 16 and four well Jamal Murray Murray put the team on his back and and I think throughout this season the ups and downs of the injury being out for 14 games and recuperating um nine to 16 from the

Field gets to the foul line six times 27 points and uh just contributed all across the board you mentioned that it doesn’t even necessarily matter the game plan so much as how you guys are executing it defensively what were you seeing specifically from Nia defensively tonight that that made him so effective

Well I mean anytime you can grab there and you get 14 defensive rebounds four steals a block and five deflections that speaks to activity that speaks to physicality that speaks to just um being in the right place at the right time and kcp got the defensive player of the game

Because we only travel with one we got to change that cuz I if we had two chains Nico would have gotten the other one um when you’re guarding Steph Curry and pick and roll the big has to be up you’re almost Blitz him and Nico was up

Every time in that in those picking roles to help contribute to what kcp was doing so just his uh engagement his activity uh was just off the charts thanks everybody

Hear what Coach Malone had to say after the win.

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Coach Malone Full Post Game Press Conference vs. Warriors 🎙