“Stupid a** questions.” - Michael Malone gets flustered by reporter, shuts down 20-point choke narrative
Michael Malone bristled when questioned about the Denver Nuggets' squandered 20-point lead in Game 7 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The loss halted their bid to defend their NBA championship.
The Denver Nuggets lost 98-90 to the Wolves on Sunday, dropping the series in seven and falling short of making a remarkable 0-2 comeback despite regaining home court.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone was visibly frustrated with his team's loss and took exception to a reporter's question surrounding his team's considerable lead in the series decider.
"Next question man," Malone said. "The season is over, that's what's hard. F**k being up 20. The season is over, you don't understand that. The season is over, it's hard. Stupid a** uquestions."
Despite the Wolves' offensive woes, their increased defensive pressure caused the Nuggets to falter, allowing them to seize control of the game. Chris Finch and Micah Nori ensured they didn't surrender to the Nuggets' elite offense, which has nearly been unguardable since last season.
The Timberwolves were willing to let Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray beat them by themselves as the star duo put up 30+ points in single coverages. However, that came with Minnesota putting the stops on the Nuggets' role players, who couldn't individually breach the 10-point mark.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves received 23-point games from Karl-Anthony Towns and Jaden McDaniels, while others also stepped up to the task with handy contributions.
Michael Malone justifies Nuggets' early exit
Michael Malone didn't hesitate to credit the Timberwolves for rising to the occasion and beating the defending champions. While crediting the T'Wolves, Malone also cited why the Nuggets weren't able to get over the hump.
"I'm not an excuse maker. The better team won. I'm taking nothing away from Minnesota. When you look at the fact from all the teams that are still playing, we played until June last year.
"We had to play our main guys to Game 82 to secure the No. 2 seed, whereas last year we were able to rest down the stretch."
The Nuggets faced the common challenge of a team looking to go back-to-back, though. Malone and his team came up short after seemingly playing with overconfidence throughout their 2024 playoffs run. It started against the Lakers, where Denver usually started slow and crawled back in the second halves.
That plan effectively failed against a better team in Minnesota. The Nuggets' inability to mentally regroup amid losses in Games 1 and 2 against the Timberwolves was where they probably lost the series. Those issues came to haunt them in Game 6's massive blowout loss and Game 7's meltdown.