What went wrong with the Denver Nuggets?

It seemed that everything would end well for them. Denver Nuggets. The 58-38 score reflected on the scoreboard early in the third quarter was the best indicator that the seventh and final round between the defending champions and Minnesota Timberwolves This will end in a local victory. Despite losing the first two games played in Denver, the Nuggets rose to earn the right to close out the series in front of their home fans… only to have it all fall apart.

Thanks to excellent defense and better team play, as well as how well this team fits the comparisons to the Wolves Pack, the Wolves made a spectacular comeback to reach the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2004. also serves to prolong the champion’s curse, the search for a doppelganger, which Michael Malone already knew was very difficult: For the fifth time in a row, the defending champion did not even reach the conference finals.

Nobody repeats

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“Nobody ever said it would be easy to try and replicate this” Nuggets coach said, Michael Malone immediately after losing Game 7. Visibly angry at the journalist who reminded him of the statistic, Malone was reluctant to address the fact that his side had blown a 20-point lead, the biggest comeback in Game 7 history since the 1997–98 campaign.

“The season is over. This is a difficult thing. To hell with winning by 20, the season is over. What stupid questions.”

Despite the terrible finish, Malone was very proud of his players: “Mentally, emotionally and physically my players are exhausted. They’re dead. They gave me everything I asked of them. a lot, I’m going to leave the pavilion with my head held high. We competed, we fought and it wasn’t enough, sometimes that happens. We need to get better and come back stronger.”

One of these players who gave absolutely everything on the court was Nikola Jokic. The Serbian took just a minute off to lead the Nuggets again, adding 34 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists, which wasn’t enough against a team looking to make a splash.

“It’s difficult because the teams are hungrier and probably have more talent than last year. Everyone wants to beat us. The best team won. I think in a best-of-seven series, whoever wins will be the better team. Congratulations to them. “We had options, but they beat us.”

The three-time NBA MVP took a rather conservative approach to winning last year’s ring, ensuring that we should appreciate having fought for another year: “Some teams never win a championship again.. I’m glad we had the chance this year. Let’s see”.

Murray and Jokic are very alone

The bench did not appear

Without a doubt, the bench was the deciding factor in Game 7, which decided the series between the Wolves and Nuggets. Murray and Jokic, who spent the first half on the verge of perfection, starred in the duel almost alone against the Timberwolves. Between the Serbian (34 points) and the Canadian (35 points), they added 69 of the 90 local points. Having two players score 76% of the points in a game is something that very rarely ends well, especially when you consider the role of players like Michael Porter Jr.

. (7 points on 3/12 field goals) or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5 points on 2/7 shooting) is just that: take advantage of the defense closing in on the Nuggets’ star duo to score as much as possible with as little cost as possible. Aaron Gordon He never entered the game (4 points and 4 rebounds in 42:22 minutes on the court), Christian Brown He did everything he could with his 5 points… that’s all.

Literally that’s it, because only six Nuggets players scored in Game 7, and Reggie Jackson And Justin Holiday came onto the court for a few minutes, and only once scored the first in the basket.

The situation at Wolves was very different and all the players were mixed in outstanding positions to eventually take the lead. CAT He started to hold the team Gobert beamed after the break, Anthony Edwards He played a key role in the comeback, but he was a replacement as Naz Reed the one that determined the away win. Obviously, this is not about any replacement, as he has been the best of them all this season, but the fact that it was a player with no role or star tag who gave his team a pass into the Western final team speaks highly of the team Chris Finch.

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