Postgame Interview | Michael Malone praises Nikola and Jamal after Nuggets beat Pacers 114-109

Postgame Interview | Michael Malone praises Nikola and Jamal after Nuggets beat Pacers 114-109

This going to sound like a strange question but could you be any more confident in the Twan game between Nicole yic and Jamal Murray down the stretch in games like this no I mean for nine well eight years now obviously uh you know Nicole and Jamal been playing

Together for eight years um and how many close games have we won just letting those two play and uh you know we down the stretch we went Twan game I wanted to get nicoa in the post force a double team or play straight up he’s going to

Make the right play and then once we had a a two fourpoint lead flatten the court out let them play twom Man game and uh you know nicoa popping for a three was just um you know kind of the cherry on top so tremendous win you know what I

Liked about tonight was it wasn’t easy you I mean we had to work for this and we had to pick up our energy and uh we’re able to do so now we have one game left on this Odyssey of a trip and hopefully we can find a way to go to New

York and um and try to get one more coming in that their bench was number one in the league and you look at the second and fourth quarter where they just and all they do is play downhill and attack it how tough hasn’t to surprise you at all and how’d you try to

Counter that in the last three minutes yeah well as I mentioned at halftime we showed a couple of clips of make Miss turnover they were just they were gone and you know they were sprinting we were kind of jogging back not communicating and they were getting whatever they

Wanted I think the only had four fast break points for the game on paper we had 18 and that’s a great running team uh I just think most importantly Scott it was us um understanding who we’re playing and if we’re going to try to win this game

We can’t let them be the aggressor we have to Sprint with them and we have to Sprint back at them and I felt in the second half we had uh examples of us getting out in the open court finishing attacking the basket so um again you know your two best players Jamal and

Nicoa play that way we become a very tough team to uh to beat how do you feel about the trip so far do his Victor give you a lot of confidence before the next game yeah I mean I regardless of this road trip you know we’re three and one

Right now on this road trip you know having won the last three in a row uh but I have all the confidence in this team you know this team just won a championship and when you have Nicole yic as a starting center Jamal Murray as your starting point guard and the

Display they put on in 20 playoff games last year um you know we walk into every Arena fully expecting to win um now we know New York’s going to be a tough challenge the last game of a road trip guys are tired they miss home so we got

To find a way to be mentally tough and concentrate on the task at hand and that’s going in and winning a game in the world’s most famous arena yic has a triple double now against every team in the NBA but the Washington Wizards Indiana was a team he hadn’t had a

Triple double again that’s a great trivia question so Washington’s the only one only one left yeah he missed it by one last game all right well next time we play Washington I’m playing in 48 minutes so he can just he can cross that off the list is that um as absurd

Sounding to you as it is to us watching it every night yeah I mean it’s um I mean think about 10 assists one turnover you know what I mean um and the crazy thing is I think we’re 17 and five now in our last 22 games my math is correct

And I just I just want you to people look up his his efficiency the guy is shooting D there 70% he’s not taking two shots ton night you know he’s not one of the guys that I led the league and fi goal percentage I average three shots a

Game no this guy is a high volume player and you know there are other great players that do it in different ways but Nola the efficiency the unselfishness and his ability to make everyone around him better is just um he just contined to Marvel at it coach you you know that

There’s no NBA players ever committed a foul U you went you well I know I did you you went two challenges both on fouls called against dla when he comes over starts doing the little twirly thing to you I mean are you I mean what

Do you think is I I got to caught sh or do you feel when he does this I think we’re going out after the game to get a drink you know I mean that’s what I think um I remember the first summer league they put in the uh on a trial

Basis the The Challenge and I remember I was talking with Becky Hammond who’s now the head coach of the Aces and as a hell of a coach and she was coaching the Spurs summer league team I asked her about it I said you know what what was

Your take on the coach’s Challenge and she said I learned this players are all liars every one of them said I didn’t foul him and they go to the TV and watch it and say yes you did foul him but you know Nia we’ve been together for nine

Years and uh he has proven to be very trustworthy and uh I think the coaches were saying after the game I think there’s five challenges in a row that we’ve been able to to win you know I mean I really don’t keep track of that

Stuff we take it just one challenge at a time but you know those can be you know game-changing type of a play and I thought that late one was um so yeah it works out in our favor and he was being held before the foul so I’m glad they

Saw that and they they overturned it obviously the the so much emphasis on kcps defense rly so but when he’s able to have a little surch hits a couple threes gets going offensively how much does that uh sort of spark the rest of the team it ends up sort of feels like

Sort of fueling the transition game I think 10 of the Fast Break points were in that third quarter yeah I mean it’s um you know when we can find a game where you get all five starters playing at a high level in terms of shooting scoring efficiency then we we already

Know that our fiveman starting unit is analytically I think the best analytical efficient fiveman unit in the NBA and so when Pope is knocking down threes he’s driving and finishing uh at the basket which he did tonight and then he’s giving you the defense and the hustle

And the five rebounds um you he’s a he’s a two-time world champion you know he he has a way to finds a way to impact the game in a lot of different ways without me calling many plays for him and that speaks a lot to his mindset and being

Completely selfless for this team in franchise is the rock paper scissors with him and Jamal for uh for the right to take the technical free throw is that coach sanctioned or no I let them they they can figure that out I mean it’s uh I think Pope’s free throw percentage is

Just through the roof and you know Jamal lives for those moments so um you know we used to have a rule that if you go up there and you you shoot it and you miss it you go get to the back of the line because you just messed up your opport

But um yeah I mean Jamal was 6 for six we were 15 for 17 and we don’t get there at time but our free throw percentage is really uh a drastic change from where we were the first month month and a half the season when we were dead last so uh

Ryan bow LIF to coach another day that was pretty funny um right after Rick Carlile got tossed from the game there’s kyp and Jamal doing this number rock paper SC I love it um and free throw shooting was I I mean vital 15 of 17 you don’t win this game without

Making your freebies yeah and they’re getting better cuz they’re they’re I don’t know what are they 27 28 in the league D well they were last and so yeah so they have been a lot better lately um I don’t know if it’s going to be enough

Time to rise up the rankings but uh certainly they’re much better in that area let’s not discount the job Reggie Jackson did off the Nuggets bench tonight uh 13 points hit some critical shots when they needed them most thought Reggie was a he returned to form this is

What they want from this guy yeah come out and get some of that he just plays that his speed and his ability to finish around the hoop is really a big help for the nuggets and but look at what he did there reading the situation right also

Um you get the big man out on you cool let’s back this out a little bit put a cup you hit you with a hesi and maybe a quick Cross jumper jumper oh and then the guy the the defender is going to be a comparable size now we’re going to

Drive you straight to to the hoop and when you are reading the situation that well and then you have the skill set that Reggie Jackson has which is he can score from anywhere on the court um now it’s just about getting to your spots and getting to them in a in a confident

Way so the Nuggets win this game by five let’s check out our Sports Wagers from The Fanatic sports book Five Point win they were favored by five Joker would he hit the over yes he would would you over under on I was under on that Pascal seak

He tried to double up your wager the hands did it half time and you wouldn’t take him on it I know I should have taken him on it sure about you got to get cuz you know what one for two rock paper scissors on the next how about the fact

Hcal shakum is now 0 for three as an Indiana Pacer yeah big right off the bat he had 12 in the first quarter and then it was Nothing I for our Middle Lane Tower is under attack nothing can stop me it’s an hon to be burned by my magic First Blood an enemy has been defeated my call Show me your pain an ally has been defeated your tower has been destroyed an enemy has been defeated nothing can stop me you have defeated an enemy you have deated an enemy show me your pain ultimate Ultimate down our base is under Attack Def our middle Tower is under attack spee speech Tower is under attack middle Lan Tower is tower has destroyed

Postgame Interview | Michael Malone praises Nikola and Jamal after Nuggets beat Pacers 114-109