Michael Malone and the Denver Nuggets have gotten blown out in two straight games by the Utah Jazz and they now trail the best-of-seven first-round series 2-1 after winning Game 1.

Following the Nuggets' 37-point loss in Game 3, Malone tried to sum up what is going wrong with his team during his media session.

“If you dig deeper into that … I think we give in too easy,” the Denver Nuggets' coach said Friday, via ESPN.

“Our group has to be a lot more mentally tough. None of us are performing. I'm not coaching well enough; we're not playing well enough. And a lot has to change going into Game 4, because this is two games in a row we've gotten our ass kicked.

“It was a wrap,” Malone said of Denver's play at the end of the first quarter and early in the second. “Everything after that, the second half and the last eight minutes of the second quarter, was just window dressing.”

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The Nuggets were outscored by the Jazz in all four quarters during Game 3. Denver really struggled in the third quarter, as they were outscored by Utah 35-20.

In the 2019 playoffs, the Nuggets lost to the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round in seven games. It would be disappointing if the team didn't even make it out of the first round this season considering Denver was expected to contend for the Western Conference title with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray leading the way.

For the Nuggets to win Game 4, Jokic and Murray have to play better on both ends of the floor and come out with intensity for 48 minutes.