The Denver Nuggets fell hard to the Phoenix Suns in Game 2, losing by a lopsided 25 points, 98-123. Safe to say their head coach Michael Malone was not a happy camper.

The Nuggets coach blasted his squad for quitting on the game. After Nikola Jokic scored the first two points of the contest to put Denver up 2-0, they trailed Phoenix the rest of the way. A 10-point halftime deficit quickly ballooned as Game 2 turned into a blowout early into the second half. The Nuggets fell behind by as much as 31 points in the fourth quarter.

Malone chastised his team's effort all throughout the game, claiming the Nuggets didn't want it as much as their opponent.

Via Nuggets beat reporter Harrison Wind:

“I saw one team that wanted to be here and play with a purpose and urgency, and one team that did not want to be here and play with no urgency. And that's why we got our ass kicked.”

“That's an embarrassing performance all the way around, from top to bottom.”

The only silver lining Malone saw was the encouraging play from guard Will Barton, who returned from his hamstring injury to play a shade over 15 minutes in the contest. The Nuggets reserve tallied 10 points, three assists, and the sole admiration from his head coach.

“It's embarrassing that a guy that hasn't been able to play for seven weeks was out there leaving it all on the line, and I don't feel like anyone else did.”

But Nikola Jokic refuted the Nuggets coach, claiming his squad may have wavered a little when things got rough, but that's not the same as quitting.

Jokic, named the regular season's Most Valuable Player, finished with a solid line of 24 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists. The fact that this level of output from the Joker is considered modest speaks to just how high the Nuggets star has set the bar this season. Denver will need a much better performance from him and the rest of the team if they want to avoid a 0-3 hole in Game 3.