Down by 14 points in the third quarter, the Denver Nuggets found the strength to come back and win Game-6 on the Portland field, advancing to the second round of the playoffs despite the absences of two starters like Jamal Murray and Will Barton. The formula to do it? “Defending strong and Nikola Jokic”, as admitted Michael Porter Jr. And Michael Malone adds: “We are happy, but we have bigger goals”
After Jamal Murray’s crusader injury, few would have bet on the Denver Nuggets. And after the way they lost Game-4 on the Portland Trail Blazers’ field, even fewer would have bet on two of their own wins in the next two games, avoiding having to play everything in yet another Game-7 in the playoffs. “Nobody wants to see Damian Lillard, one of the most clutch players ever, in a 7 “ said Michael Porter Jr. summing up the thinking of all the Nuggets. After resisting Lillard’s 55 points in Game-5, the Nuggets managed to find a way to pull off a win on the Blazers’ field as well. recovering 14 points of disadvantage in the second half with the simplest of formulas: “Defending strong and Nikola Jokic”, as Porter Jr himself admitted – also author of six triples in the first quarter alone, before stopping and closing with 26 points. “We have so many very tough players, everyone has had their moments,” MPJ said. “I got off to a strong start but then I cooled down, and they leveled up Austin [Rivers], AG [Aaron Gordon], Monte [Morris], J-Mike [JaMychal Green] – we have many players capable of doing it “.
Malone: ”I could also play with Jokic and we would be competitive”
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Coach Michael Malone also underlined the strength of this group, mental even before technical: “I love this team. I love every single player in that locker room, from the first to the seventeenth. We have been finding ways to win since last year, even if people don’t understand how much we miss players out through injury. I couldn’t be more proud of a group of players that I love to coach every single day“. It is right to underline the effort of the group, but do not lose sight of the fundamental point: if the Nuggets are in the second round it is above all thanks to Nikola Jokic, simply magnificent with 36 points (all after the first quarter), 8 rebounds and 6 assists with stellar percentages. “That’s why it’s clearly the MVP,” Malone continued. “It could be me, Wes Unseld, Ryan Bowen, Charles Klask, whoever you want – and he could still find a way to make us competitive. Because this is its greatness ”. For his part, Jokic spoke with his usual humility about why he wasn’t aggressive in the first quarter: “There was no point in forcing. We had a rhythm scorer [Porter Jr., autore di 22 punti nel primo quarto con 6 triple a segno, record NBA pareggiato, ndr] and there was no point in making him cool or angry just to pull. I prefer to sacrifice a couple of minutes or a quarter, no problem ”.
Lillard crowns Jokic: “It could lead them to the title”
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Jokic had a sensational opponent in Damian Lillard, who lost their legs in the second half after efforts to keep the team on their feet in the first five games and in particular in the two overtime of game-5. “He really does everything for them. And if there is a year in which a single player can lead a team to the title, it could be this year given how open the scenario is. There is no favorite, at least in my view. Everyone can beat everyone and go all the way. And he is certainly capable of it ”. Even coach Malone, despite the satisfaction of the passage of the round, does not intend to stop there: “I told the team: it was a great victory to come here to win this game-6, but we are not satisfied. Our goal this year is not to get through the first round. We have much bigger goals“. And with a Jokic like this, anything is really possible.
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