Malone reminds the Nuggets they’re the defending champs
AP Sports Writer
DENVER — After a difficult-to-watch film session of their Monday night meltdown against Minnesota and an energetic practice Wednesday,
Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone gave his team a stinging reminder and made a request.
“Guys, we’re the reigning world champions,” Malone said. “Act like it and play like it.”
They did neither in their 108-80 Game 2 loss to the Timberwolves, who took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 Western Conference semifinal series back to Minneapolis.
On Tuesday, the NBA fined Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray $100,000 for tossing a towel and a heat pack onto the court “in the direction of a game official during live play” in the second quarter of Game 2.
Murray avoided a suspension and also dodged any punishment for making a money sign at an official earlier in the second quarter. A similar gesture by Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a regular season game in March drew a $100,000 fine from the league.
Murray, who has been flummoxed by a strained left calf, a lost shooting touch and a paucity of whistles going his way, left Ball Arena without speaking to reporters after Games 1 and 2.
He met with the media after practice Wednesday but didn’t have much to say about his actions that endangered players on both teams and Marc Davis’ officiating crew or the fine issued by the league.
“Nah, I mean it is what it is and I take everything in full responsibility, so on to the next,” Murray said when asked whether he had expected the fine and if he felt his punishment was appropriate.
Asked for an explanation of his actions, Murray said, “Yeah, on to the next. I mean, two days ago, not much for me to say about it right now.”
When asked about issuing an apology or taking responsibility, Murray cut off the line of questioning by asking, “Do you have any basketball questions?”
Murray acknowledged the Nuggets lost their collective composure Monday night when the Wolves hounded them into a 35% shooting performance even though their best defender, Rudy Gobert, who won the league’s Defensive Player of the Year Award on Tuesday, was back in Minneapolis for the birth of his son.
“We’ve just got to be ready to play and not get frustrated with how the game goes sometimes and we allowed it to take us out of our game,” Murray said. “So, we’ve just got to stay composed and find a way to stick together during the game and figure it out. No matter what the scoreboard says, we’ve got to be able to claw back.”
The towel Murray threw landed at the heels of Davis on the baseline but the heat pack skidded across the floor just as Karl-Anthony Towns was going for a layup.
Wolves coach Chris Finch called Murray’s actions “inexcusable and dangerous,” saying somebody easily could have gotten hurt.
“I’ve never seen that from Jamal. That was very uncharacteristic,” Malone said, attributing Murray losing his cool to “taking a charge and it’s not called, not making shots at the level we know he’s capable of making, being down 30 points to a team that we’re trying to beat to get to the Western Conference finals.
“So when you put it all in the boiling pot, that’s a lot to handle. And he didn’t handle it the way he knows he needs to handle it, and I’m sure he told you guys that.”
Coming off the first NBA championship in franchise history, the Nuggets have shown a fatigue in these playoffs that has plagued previous champions.