Nuggets HC rips into players for botched free throws and costly turnovers: "They're such a killer"
Following their Game 2 loss after a tightly contested battle against the LA Clippers on Monday, Denver Nuggets coach David Adelman ripped into his players for their costly mistakes.
During the postgame press conference, Adelman highlighted their eight missed free throws and 20 turnovers as a significant factor in their 105-102 home loss.
"You can't miss right free throws in a game like this, that was a killer," Adelman said. "And obviously the points off turnovers, in Game 1 we won that battle and tonight they won that battle.
"Games like this is a grind, and the possessions are so tough, those easy baskets going the other way are such a killer. Just seemed like every time we got back in, tied it, took the lead, a multitude of mistakes would follow that. Once you have momentum, you can't have mistakes like that...just felt like it was uphill all night," he added.
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The Nuggets had 22 free-throw attempts in the game and made 14, while the Clippers shot 10-for-12 from the line. Seven of their 20 turnovers came from Nikola Jokic, while the Clippers tallied a total of 11.
With the loss, Denver lost its home-court advantage as the Clippers evened the first-round playoff series at 1-1. Jokic led the Nuggets' losing effort with a triple-double of 26 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and three steals, while Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers to victory with 39 points, three rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.
Frustrated fans react to Nuggets' Game 2 loss
Many mistakes piled up for the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 on Monday, eventually landing them an avoidable loss against the LA Clippers. Reacting to the loss, fans shared their frustrations on X/Twitter:
"So many mistakes, especially in the fourth quarter. We should have won that game," one fan tweeted.
"what a winnable game lost," another fan said.
"Y'all wasted a chance to go 2-0," one fan added.
"Maybe stop turning it over a billion times," a fan wrote.
"Those free throw missed hurts now," another fan said.
"Pain!! Self inflicted," one fan commented.
As evidently displayed in the first two games of the series, both teams are equally matched, and the result of the series is likely going to come down to the small hustles. Denver pulled through in Game 1 by two points before falling short in the second by three.
The Nuggets will look to gain back their home-court advantage as they hit the road to face the Clippers in Game 3 at Intuit Dome on Thursday.