Malone wants team to take road woes “personally”
NEW ORLEAN S While studying film on the Pelicans, Michael Malone stressed that star center DeMarcus Cousins preferred to drive to his right. Guard Jrue Holiday, meanwhile, would aim to complement by going left.
And yet, the Nuggets could not slow down New Orleans’ insideoutside tandem. Cousins matched a season-high with 40 points and added 22 rebounds and four blocks. Holiday added 27 points and seven assists. And the Pelicans shot 53.5 percent from the floor in a 123-114 victory Wednesday night at the Smoothie King Center, sparking the Nuggets’ coach to dish out a harsh dose of reality about his team’s continued road woes.
“It’s becoming the same story every single night,” Malone said. “And until our guys start taking it personally, until our guys start understanding the importance of playing defense and guarding your man one-on-one, forget playoffs. That is a word we should not use with this team.
“Let’s just talk about being real honest. We are a bad basketball team on the road. We are a very good team at home. Unfortunately, in the NBA, you have to play 41 games on the road, and right now we are a bad road team.”
The loss made Denver 0-2 to start a six-game road trip and dropped the Nuggets to 3-9 away from Pepsi Center.
It was a matchup missing the bulk of its frontcourt star power on both sides, as Denver’s Nikola Jokic (sprained ankle) and Paul Millsap (wrist surgery) and New Orleans’ Anthony Davis (groin) all sat out with injuries. But the Pelicans (13-12) still had Cousins, who anchored Wednesday’s highscoring attack after allowing the Nuggets to score a season-high
146 points in last month’s first meeting between these two teams.
Cousins matched his season-high in points. He dropped 15 points in the second quarter, including a nifty threepoint play in which he crossed over Kenneth Faried at the top of the key, spun in the lane and converted through contact. Cousins stepped out to drill two 3-pointers in the third quarter. He assisted on a Darius Miller 3-pointer in the opening minutes of the fourth.
“When you don’t give any effort to guarding him and you don’t take it personal and accept the challenge of guarding him, of course (he’ll have a big game),” Malone said. “He’s a great player. He went out there and did whatever he wanted — and did it with ease.”
For much of the game, Denver kept up with New Orleans’ offensive firepower. The Nuggets (13-11) led by 10 points in the first quarter and by seven in the second. They were within three when Malik Beasley opened the final quarter with a 3-pointer. But the Pelicans’ lead grew to as many as 20 points.
Denver got the bulk of its scoring from its backcourt, with Gary Harris finishing with 24 points and four assists, Will Barton adding 15 points and seven rebounds in his return to the starting lineup and Emmanuel Mudiay scoring 17 off the bench.
Denver probably will need to continue navigating life without both Jokic and Millsap on Friday at Orlando.
The good news for the Nuggets? Against the Magic, they won’t need to try to stop DeMarcus Cousins.
The bad news? According to their coach, the Nuggets’ defensive problems do not stem from the star they faced Wednesday.
“I’m not going to play the same guys over and over, when we give up, every single night, 110 or 120 (points),” Malone said. “It’s not in my nature. I’m not going to sit there and watch that much longer, I’ll tell you that much.”