Michael Malone (Denver) after game 2: “By far our play-off game with the least discipline”

Michael Malone (Denver Coach): “It’s the NBA Finals and now we’re talking about trying…it really worries me. You probably thought I was exaggerating after Game 1 by saying we didn’t play well. We had been lucky. Tonight some guys were sorry they didn’t get a shot or looked like they thought they just had to flip the switch. It’s not the preseason, nor the regular season. I’m confused and really disappointed. I asked the guys to tell me why they lost and they knew the answer. Miami played harder. It was by far the play-off game where we were the least disciplined. If we want to go out there and take back control of the series, we’re going to have to play harder than them. In the fourth quarter, we let them score 36 points with 69% success. It’s not going to do it. Our defense must be much better. In the fourth quarter of matches 1 and 2, it was non-existent. »

Nikola Jokic (Denver center): “We didn’t want to lose at home but it happened and we’ll have to live with it. We didn’t play well in the fourth quarter, where they scored 36 points. It’s too much of course. You have to know where to place yourself and what to do in defense. Today, they imposed their rhythm on us and we didn’t want to play like that. Maybe playing a little faster will help us. But if you’re not more disciplined, this streak won’t last long because they punish you as soon as you make a mistake. »

“You have to play with intensity throughout the game. We cannot be satisfied with bursts. »

Jamal Murray (Denver point guard): “There’s something discouraging when you make mistake after mistake and it’s not the other team beating you but you leaving them dunks or open shots. We piled up the mistakes and we couldn’t recover from them. We have to stick together and move on. You have to play with intensity throughout the game. You can’t just have a good start to the second period and then a good end to the third quarter. We cannot be satisfied with bursts. At home or away, it does not change anything, we will have to show a better face. The last shot? You have seen me attempt it often. I was in a good position but it didn’t fit. »