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Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic led the Denver Nuggets to a Game 1 win over the Utah Jazz to begin their best-of-seven first-round series. However, since the victory, the Mike Malone-led squad has gotten blown out in two consecutive contests and now trail the Salt Lake City team, 2-1.
After getting pummeled by 37 points in Game 3, Murray and Jokic talked about where the Nuggets must go from here, via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
Asked what the mood was in locker room and what it was like during that rout for the Nuggets, Jamal Murray says, "We were just blown out twice." Murray says it is time for Denver to respond and he puts a lot on him as far as getting the tempo up and getting everyone involved.
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) August 21, 2020
Nikola Jokic on leaning on experience of coming back from down 2-1 to San Antonio in first round last year: "I mean, it's not over. Still plenty of games… Just need to be a little more disciplined in my opinion."
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) August 21, 2020
The Nuggets played with zero energy in Game 3. They were lethargic all game and Nikola Jokic didn't play with any intensity on the defensive side of the floor. He got outplayed by Jazz star center Rudy Gobert, who finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds in 32 minutes.
Jokic, meanwhile, put up 15 points, five rebounds and six assists in 32 minutes. His defense was abysmal, so it will have to be much better in Game 4 if the Nuggets want to even up the series. Jamal Murray also has to contribute more after scoring only 12 points in Game 3 and shooting 5-of-16 from the field.
As a team, the Nuggets shot 37.5 percent overall in Game 3 against the Jazz. Malone needs more ball movement from his players. There was too much iso-ball in Game 3, which highlighted the fact that the Nuggets struggled mightily to knock down shots.
