The Nuggets got too heated and let it spill onto the court.
Their offense went to waste. Their coach went nose-to-nose with a referee. Their defense deteriorated.
And with one flick of Jamal Murray’s wrist, their championship pedigree disappeared.
Murray’s rash decision to throw a heat pack onto the floor during play was a brutally on-the-nose metaphor for the collective loss of composure that characterized Denver’s Game 2 embarrassment against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.
“I thought we lost control of our emotions a little bit tonight,” coach Michael Malone said.
“We’ve gotta leave the officials alone, honestly,” Aaron Gordon said. “They’re not looking to help us. They’re looking to officiate the game.”
Even before Murray’s projectile landed near the feet of lead official Marc Davis, Malone was practically begging for an ejection and evidently not using the necessary language. (“Although Coach Malone was visibly upset about both his team and the officials,” Davis said in a pool report interview, adding insult to injury, “I did not hear him say anything unsportsmanlike that warranted a technical foul.”)
Even well after the Murray incident, Gordon was handed a technical foul because a whole season’s worth of pent-up frustration at Nikola Jokic no-calls finally caused him to snap.
“I think they’re just draped all over Joker. I think they’re just hacking him. They’re hacking,” Gordon said. “Yeah, and just not being able to communicate with the officials is frustrating as well. When you have to ask them a question and they don’t even look at you, they don’t even acknowledge you, very frustrating. And I think they’re hacking Joker. I think he’s been getting fouled all year. I don’t think he shoots nearly enough free throws, of what he should shoot. So yeah, it was just frustrating. I don’t like seeing my big fella get hacked with no calls.”
That’s a conflict that dates back to November and December, when Jokic was ejected twice from games after arguing with referees. Gordon is especially protective of the two-time MVP, whom he calls a close friend, and the Nuggets have always been exasperated by how Jokic is officiated. But even Gordon knew in hindsight that now was not the time for theatrics.
“I’m kind of giving you guys contradictory statements about talking to the officials and them not even acknowledging me,” he admitted, “but at the same time, we’ve gotta just focus and play the game.”
Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone explodes on referee Marc Davis (8) as Peyton Watson (8) and Aaron Gordon (50) hold him back during the first quarter at Ball Arena in Denver on Monday, May 6, 2024. Malone took exception to a big body drive by Karl-Anthony Towns (32) of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Jamal Murray (27) of the Denver Nuggets, which sent the Nugget flying and resulted in a no call. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Soon after Gordon’s technical, the Nuggets reached their nadir, a 32-point deficit on the home court where they’re supposed to be near-invincible. Last postseason, they were 10-1 in Denver. This year, they’re 3-2, and two of those wins required last-second shots from Murray.
Minnesota’s defense is not the Lakers’ defense. The Timberwolves stay glued to every action away from the ball. They close out on shots with a vengeance — they compiled 12 blocks Monday. They swipe at the ball and, yes, probably hack sometimes. But when it became clear in the first half that the officials were going to let ’em play, the Nuggets failed to make the commensurate adjustments to their own physicality at the defensive end. They let Anthony Edwards walk all over them.
Between halftime of Game 1 and halftime of Game 2, the Timberwolves — ranked 17th in the NBA in offensive rating this season — made 51 of 82 shots (62.2%).
“After that first quarter, there was basically one team on the floor,” Jokic said. “They were more aggressive. They were more physical.”
His hyperbole about one team disappearing entirely was also on-the-nose. Ninety minutes before the opening tip, Malone had implored Jokic to be more aggressive, regardless of Rudy Gobert’s attendance status. Turned out, there was no Gobert.
But Jokic attempted only 13 field goals in 39 minutes. Murray scored eight points on 3-for-18 shooting. They combined for 10 assists and eight turnovers. Both have been insufficient in ball-screen defense.
That’s where the current sense of despondency begins and ends. It’s not the Nuggets’ perceived defining flaw that’s costing them the series so far — though it certainly doesn’t help that Minnesota is twice as deep. It’s the complete lack of production from their star players, their championship assets.
“Jamal and Nikola — nine years, eight years — we’ve been through a lot,” Malone said. “Hopefully those guys can help in terms of leading the charge and rallying the troops.”
When asked how the Nuggets will respond in Game 3 on Friday, Jokic offered only a tepid response: “I don’t know, we will see.” And Murray was out of the locker room quickly after the final buzzer without speaking to reporters.
Jamal Murray (27) of the Denver Nuggets leaves the floor after the fourth quarter of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 106-80 win at Ball Arena in Denver on Monday, May 6, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
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So Gordon did his best to imbue confidence in a bleak moment, emphasizing that one win in Minnesota can swing the momentum of the series. He’s a player who prides himself on his ability to take a bump and give it back. He even seemed to get in Karl-Anthony Towns’ head at one point during Game 1.
So Gordon knows as well as anyone that if Denver wants that one win, it’ll have to rediscover some mental and physical composure first.
“I feel like we’re getting pushed off our spots; they were grabbing and holding, and we were looking for the officials,” he said. “We weren’t doing anything about it.”