NDIVIDUAL ➢ Nikola Jokic registered 37 points (11-18 FG, 3-5 3FG, 12-12 FT), nine rebounds, six assists, a playoff career-high three steals and two blocks in 41 minutes … Jokic is only the second player (Stephen Curry) in the playoffs this season with 37+ points, 9+ rebounds and 6+ assists … He is just the ninth player in NBA history to post those numbers twice in a single playoff run. ❖ Jokic is just the second Nugget (Alex English) in franchise history with those numbers in the playoffs. ❖ Jokic joins Kevin Durant as the only two players in the playoffs this year to make 12+ FT’s in a game without missing … Jokic is the sixth Nugget in franchise history to accomplish this in the playoffs … The 12 made FT’s are the most Jokic has made in his career, regular season or playoffs. ➢ Jamal Murray posted 23 points (8-15 FG, 3-6 3FG, 4-4 FT), a playoff career-high eight assists and two steals in 34 minutes … Murray has scored 23+ points in all five of the Nugget’s playoff wins this year. ➢ Paul Millsap finished with 19 points (7-12 FG), six rebounds, three assists and one block in 28 minutes … This is Millsap’s 11th career playoff game with 19+ points, 6+ rebounds and 3+ assists (6-5). ➢ Damian Lillard finished with 39 points (12-21 FG, 11-13 FT), three rebounds, six assists and one steal in 43 minutes … This is Lillard’s third career playoff game (second this playoffs) with 39+ points, 3+ rebounds and 6+ assists, falling to 2-1 in those games.
TEAM ➢ Denver takes a 1-0 series lead in the second round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs … Denver won their fourth straight playoff game at home, tied for the second longest streak in franchise history … This is the fourth time in franchise history the Nuggets have won at least four straight home playoff games. ➢ The Nuggets improve to 6-5 all-time vs. Portland in the playoffs, winning their third straight against the Trail Blazers. ➢ Before this season, the most three-pointers the Nuggets had made in a playoff game was 11 … Tonight they made 12, the fourth game this playoffs with 12+ made three-pointers. ➢ Denver won despite being outshot (.519 FG% to .506 FG%) and outrebounded (40-34) … Denver is now 9-52 in the playoffs when both of those occur in the same game. ➢ The first 12 times the Nuggets allowed an opposing player to score 39+ points in the playoffs, they lost … The Nuggets have now won two straight when allowing that, dating back to 5/8/12 @ LAL when Kobe Bryant scored 43. ➢ Before tonight’s 121-113 win, Denver had gone 30 straight playoff games scoring less than 120 points … The last time they scored 120+ was 4/17/10 vs. UTA (126).
Denver Nuggets Head Coach Michael Malone: On the Nuggets’ resiliency: “Obviously, Saturday night, an emotional high, winning a Game 7. That was probably my biggest concern about tonight. Obviously, you’re worried about guarding them, but how would we react from that emotional hangover? I thought our guys did a pretty good job. Obviously, defensively we have to be a lot better moving forward. Defense was not a part of the game from either team tonight, but we were able to get enough stops. Jamal [Murray], Nikola [Jokic], Paul [Millsap] were terrific. Guys off the bench like Malik [Beasley] and Mason [Plumlee] also stepped up. You use the word resiliency and that’s very appropriate. Twelve-and-one second nights of back to backs, that shows you who our team was in the regular season and tonight, that’s kind of what this game felt like. I’m proud of our guys for showing up.” On 3-point shooting in Game 7 compared to tonight’s game: “Wins, for me, if we win 90-88 or we win 121-113. Obviously, winning is the most important analytical stat out there. I did not like our defense tonight, especially in that first quarter. They had 18 points in the paint. They found the roll man time and time again for easy layups. We were down the floor on their 3-point shooters. We got the win, and when you get a win and you know you didn’t play your best basketball, that’s a good feeling but I think everybody in the locker room knows we have to be a lot more locked in on that end of the floor and try to get a second win.” On the mental adjustment players make when defending the Spurs versus defending the Trail Blazers: “It’s a completely different game and opponent. From Derrick White and DeMar DeRozan, who are not known as 3-point shooters to guarding CJ and Damian Lillard, who are very efficient 3-point shooters. So, your mindset has to change there and that alone, the personnel. But now, I think going into this series in the first round, Damian Lillard was averaging 33 pick-and rolls per game. That’s a crazy number. Your bigs are under constant duress, constant pressure to guard and contain, as are your smalls. We have some good moments, but once again, we’ll watch the film, we’ll try to figure out what we can do better and maybe some different looks we can give them.” On the Nuggets’ third quarter: “That first quarter, I think, the offense was grooving all over the place. Their offense, our offense, neither team could stop one another. But, I thought in the third quarter, the difference was, and I kept on telling our guys in the huddles, ‘once we get out defense into the game, we’re going to be okay.’ The first team that actually gets defense into the game, will be the team that wins. Third quarter, much better defense and our offense was able to play at a high level and that carried over to the fourth quarter. With those guys, that backcourt, they’re never out of a game. The clock is just moving slow. But again, I thought Jamal Murray, eight assists, one turnover. Nikola had six assists, 37 points, nine rebounds and Paul Millsap was a problem for them. They started double teaming him in the post. It was a hell of a win, way to start it off. San Antonio, we gave away Game 1. But, at least we started this series out right by winning at home.”
Denver Nuggets Guard Gary Harris: On the block against Damian Lillard at the end of the game: “I just wanted to rearview contest, I saw an opportunity, and I took it. Just trying to do whatever I could.” On how good it is to get the first win of the series: “It’s great, it’s part of the goal, you know? One win down, we’ve got three more to go. We are not satisfied. We have to come in, locked in, and ready to play Game 2 because if we lose Game 2, this one doesn’t really matter like that.” On defending CJ McCollum in the second half: “We just wanted to be more aggressive defensively all-around. I didn’t feel this at all in the first half, everybody was too comfortable. So, I feel like we picked that up in the second half.” On playing a Game 7 and then playing a Game 1 of a new series: “I guess it was kind of challenging. That’s like the regular season, we had a lot of games like that in the regular season, we just have to bounce back. [There was] a lot of emotion, we came in locked in yesterday, and we’re ready to play today.” On holding off Damian Lillard from 3-point range: “He still had 39 points, so we still have to do better and I think we will. We just have to continue to stay locked in, continue to come back tomorrow, get ready, look at the film, and just look at areas where we can get better.” On what being more aggressive defensively looks like: “Just being physical. Letting them feel us, getting into the ball, bigs talking out and being able to screen. Just staying locked in, mentally and physically.” On if this series is going to be more of an offensive series: We don’t want it to be that. It was kind of a shootout, especially in that first quarter. It was a little better in the second, but we feel like we can run, but if we are going to win these games we have to get stops.”
Denver Nuggets Guard Jamal Murray: On how he was able to only have one turnover tonight: “Just playing my game. If somebody is open, I pass it and if I’m open, I shoot. They did some different stuff on us tonight. We just adjusted, [Nikola Jokic] Joker got into the middle of the paint and was able to make some plays. Gary [Harris] hit some big shots and [Paul Millsap] Sap was great as well. We have a lot of weapons and the ball was moving for us early.” On how much Nikola Jokic has grown into being a scorer: “He just picks his spots. He doesn’t force any plays, he’s seesthe open man, but he’s such a willing passer. He also gets his teammates involved and sometimes when he has an easy shot, he doesn’t take it, but that hasn’t been the case, especially in the playoffs, especially in games where we were down 2-1 against San Antonio. He was just being aggressive, Game 7, being aggressive, and I he think he’s found his mission when he has to go to the rack and when he has to defer and pass it.” On how much of a better point guard he has become since entering the league: “I’ve been a point guard my whole life, it’s a difficult question for me. Kentucky was the only year that I played the two guard and I played ok, I guess. I can shoot, but point guard is what I’ve been doing my whole life and just kind of be more detailed in what I do, be more solid, just doing the little things, not turning the ball over and getting more ball movement. Tonight, was a good night and, like I said, when everybody is making shots it makes it a lot easier.”
Denver Nuggets Guard Malik Beasley: On defense: “I think we did a good job. I think we could have contained them better a little bit when they split the pick and roll and things like that. I thought it was a great game on our end, on the defensive end, and hopefully, we continue that all series.” On Damian Lillard: “It is very tough because you have to pick him up at half court instead of a regular guy where you get him at the 3-point line. It makes it difficult. You have to give more extra effort, but it is a challenge and we are going to accept that.” On what it is like going from Game 7 to Game 1: “It is a quick turnaround and you just have to play. It is what we were born to do. You just have to go out there and have fun.”
Denver Nuggets Forward Paul Millsap: On his assessment of the game: “Decent, we can do better on a lot of things. They came in with a game plan on the offensive end and that’s what the playoffs are about, adjusting. Give them credit, they’re a good offensive team. They have a lot of firepower over there.” On matching up with Portland’s frontcourt: “We’ve been playing inside-out all year, that’s where our strengths come from. For us to be effective, we’ve got to establish something down low, inside-out. I think when we do that and start games off like that, guys start hitting shots and the rhythm is there. It’s up to us set the tone.” On emphasis in the series: “I think the series is really going to be about the defensive end. We’re not too worried about the offensive side of the ball, we know we can score. Defensively, we can’t let them get off and have big nights, so I think the pressure is on us to stop them defensively.” On Gary Harris’ reverse layup in the third-quarter: “Top-5 layups of all-time, if you ask me. His 360 is up there too. He makes plays like that all the time.” On what makes Nikola Jokic so difficult to defend: “He’s a spounge, he picks it up. He sees how people are playing him and guarding him, and he makes the right play every time. That’s what’s great about him, is he doesn’t force anything. He’s going to make the right reads, he’s like a quarterback out there. I consider him like a [New England Patriots Quarterback] Tom Brady. He’s always going to pick you apart and make the right reads. Commend him for doing that at this stage in his career.”
Portland Trail Blazers Head Coach Terry Stotts: On whether Denver did anything that surprised them: “Not really. After playing them four times and watching them seven games against San Antonio, they did most of the things they’ve been doing all season.” On turnovers leading to Denver getting going in transition: “I thought the four turnovers we had at the end of the first really took away some of our momentum. It’s usually a little bit of both. We had some soft plays, soft turnovers, especially at the end of the half. The other ones driving into the lane, there was a couple of offensive fouls. But there’s no question the turnovers hurt us. It was a good offensive game, but I thought the turnovers really made the difference.” On Enes Kanter’s performance: “Enes was terrific. He (was) very efficient, finished around the basket, playing through the shoulder injury. I couldn’t have asked any more from him. He was terrific.” On Denver’s defensive gameplan and getting Al-Farouq Aminu and Maurice Harkless more touches: “We got to take the shots that are there. We shot over 50%, we shot 38% from three. Other than the turnovers, our offense was pretty good. Those guys in particular take the opportunities that are there and they weren’t there tonight. We could look to get them more shots, take advantage of some matchups on the post, but you really have a hard time faulting our offense other than the turnovers.”
Portland Trail Blazers Center Enes Kanter: On battling through injury tonight: “I cannot play the way I want to play, obviously. It’s still the playoffs, it’s either win or go home. I think my teammates have trust in me, so I don’t have another choice. I’m just going to go out there and do everything I can to help my teammates.” On matching up with Nikola Jokic while nursing an injury: “ObviouslyJokic is a pretty big guy. I don’t really even try to think about my shoulder because, like I said, it’s the playoffs. I think the next game, I just got to go out there and play hard and play smart.” On recovering from injury while playing heavy minutes: “Just keep playing through it. With the painkillers, injections, anything I can do to just help my teammates. It doesn’t matter – one arm, two arms –I’m going to go out there and try to help my teammates win, man. I signed with this team in February, but this team put in so much work and effort the whole season. They trusted me, and I trusted them, so it doesn’t matter what happens. I’m just going to go out there and do the best I can to help them on both ends.”
Portland Trail Blazers Guard Damian Lillard: On turnovers being a difference in the game: “I think that was a huge part of it. I know I had six myself. As much as I have the ball, I’m responsible for valuing possessions. On the road, against a team that plays much faster, much better at home, especially when they get out in transition, shoot threes, and get the ball moving. We just gave them too many opportunities, too many 3-pointers off of our turnovers. That’s always going to hurt you in any game, especially on the road. We have to be much better with that. I think if we limit those and at least get shots up at the rim, we give ourselves a much better chance.” On difficulty defending Denver’s 3-point shooting: “I think, obviously, they’re different teams. With OKC, I don’t think they had the kind of shooters that Denver has. They got a lot of guys out there who’re pretty much knockdown 3-point shooters. Then, they got a guy in the middle who’s a facilitator. It’s much more of a priority to this team to have the ball moving and hopping around, finding the open man, cutting, and it’s a lot of action going on. You got to honor that because they take advantage of those things and they end up seeing the right plays and making the right plays. I guess they produce more quality looks, they make it harder on you to get out there and take that shot away. There were situations where our communication wasn’t good enough and some of our coverages we prepped coming into the game. We just didn’t do it well enough and it turned into open threes for guys that we don’t want to give open threes to. Sometimes, it was turnovers, then we’re off-balance and they got numbers, and the weakside is a guy in the corner for an open three. I think it was a lot of situations like that. Like I said, about the turnovers, those things happen. That’s what they want to do. You allow that to happen, you’re going to have a hard time winning a game, especially on the road.” On slowing down Nikola Jokic: “He’s a great player. It has to be a team effort. I think you’re not going to completely take him out, but you just got to make things difficult for him. We got to make him see bodies, we got to be physical, we got to be ready to be help bigs on the post and get back to our man. We also got to make sure that when he’s putting up shots, we’re keeping him off the glass, because he’s one of the best at shooting the ball, following his shot, then the second attempt is usually easier than the first one for him. He does a lot of little things in his favor, because he doesn’t depend on athleticism, speed, all that stuff. It’s kind of sneaky. When you relax, he’s getting those extra rebounds and two points, free throws, and stuff like that. As a group, we just got to be more aware of where he is, what he’s doing, and make it harder than it was tonight.” On similarities and differences between Denver and Oklahoma City’s defensive approach: “OKC and Denver are both top-10 defensive teams, so we knew we were going to have to come in and be sharp on the offensive end. I think it was actually more similar than I thought. The bigs were up at the level of the screen. When I was coming off, they were staying until I got rid of the ball. It was similar. There was a guy picking me up full-court like in the OKC series. It was similar, but all teams are different, all personnel is different. Obviously, what we did tonight wasn’t good enough, so watch film and go into the next game knowing how we can take better advantage of what they were doing.”
Portland Trail Blazers Forward Maurice Harkless: On team felt rusty after long break before series: “I don’t know. It’s hard to really say. We’ve been practicing, it’s hard to really say it’s rust. Obviously, it’s a different thing not being on the floor for a week. It’s no excuse. We’re professionals; we need to come out here and do what we’re supposed to do, regardless of how many days it’s been.” On preparing for Denver’s different style than the Oklahoma City Thunder: “Absolutely. I think that’s what makes it tough. You go from playing a team whose a lot of pick and roll, a lot of one-on-one, to play against a team whose a lot of movement – pretty much just moving around the whole game. If that doesn’t work, then they get to the pick and roll, so it’s a little different, but I think we did a good job yesterday preparing, but tonight they just played a little harder than we did. We didn’t execute as well as we should on either end. We’ve just got to learn from it, look at the film, see what we can do better, and just be better next game.” On the Nuggets physical play down low: “I guess so. It was physical. You’ve just got to be careful out there, just try to find that line of what’s a foul and what’s physical. Every series is different, every game is different. You’ve just got to learn and adjust and just try to come out next game and see what you can get away with.” On guarding Nikola Jokic: “Tonight, I feel like he got a lot of easy buckets. He kind of got what he wanted all night. We’ve just got to do a good job of making it tough on him, whether that’s being physical, or whatever it is, we’ve got to make it harder for him.” On the silver lining Monday night: “We had our chances. We cut it to five with, I think, six minutes, four minutes left? After being down most of the game, that’s a position we feel good about. Then, they went on a run after that, and we just couldn’t go on another run. Every time we punched them, they punched back. So credit to them, they played hard all night, made us work hard all night. Tonight they just came out on top.”
Portland Trail Blazers Guard/Forward Rodney Hood: On the role rust played in Monday night’s game: “It played a little bit. We’ve been off for a week, and they got a little bit of continuity just playing a couple days ago. The series is kind of fresh. We just found out we were playing them a couple days ago, so as the series go on, we’ll settle in and be better come Wednesday night. ” On being tough playing a team with movement versus a pick and roll team: “Yeah, it’s a contrast of style. Playing OKC [Oklahoma City Thunder] who’s got two main stars, a lot goes through them, but with these guys, all five guys are active. They move and cut without the ball, and we’ve just got make that adjustment, I think we’ll be better. We’ll watch film and be better come Wednesday.” On the second half: “Coach just went to me in the post. They had bigger wings on CJ [McCollum] and Dame [Damian Lillard], and it’s my obligation to try to take advantage of that matchup in the post and be aggressive. I got a couple of them to fall, and I’ve just got to continue to do that…” On making adjustments knowing the Nuggets offense runs through Nikola Jokic: “It’s a tough adjustment. He does a lot. I know he scored a lot tonight, but the main thing is his passing, his vision. So, we’ve got to figure out how we’re going to guard that, their pick and roll with him and [Jamal] Murray, see how we can be better in it, and clean some stuff up. I think we’ll be fine.” On the pressure the Nuggets offense puts on the defense: “It puts a lot of pressure on your defense. I think it was, I guess you’d say easier, obviously, PG [Paul George] is a hell of player, but he had three or four plays to lock in on. They have a variety of plays where everybody’s live – [Malik] Beasley is live, Jamal [Murray], and Gary [Harris], and even [Monte] Morris when he comes in the game is live, so everybody’s got to be on ten. We guarded good, certain positions, but for the most part, they were just picking their poison on what they wanted to do, and we’ve got to make the adjustment, be more physical I think, and we’ll be fine.”
Portland Trail Blazers Guard CJ McCollum: On how much rust or rest played into the loss: “No excuses, we have to be ready to play. I think we competed in the first half, a little lackadaisical in the third, some turnovers. We had four turnovers in the last two minutes in the second quarter and that kind of snowballed over into the second half, but we just have to do a better job, tighten up, take care of the ball, tighten up some of our defensive coverages, and we’ll be ok.” On what was different in the second half compared with the first half: “I think it was a combination. I had some good looks that I didn’t make in the second half, but I just have to continue to be aggressive, continue to attack, try to get to the free throw line a little bit more. It helps when we get stops and we didn’t get a lot of stops tonight. They scored on a lot of possessions, and we have to do a better job of keying in on some other guys.” On the difference between guarding the Oklahoma City Thunder and guarding the Denver Nuggets: “A lot more movement, more passing. [Nikola] Jokic is a really good player. He can pass, he can score, and he brings a lot of attention, and I think that frees up a lot of other guys. So, we just have to stay locked in, a lot of movement, backdoors, handoffs, stuff like that, but we’ll be ready to play on Wednesday.” On the pick and roll game and not finding big men around the basket: “We have to continue to be aggressive. Their bigs were up, and obviously, they were trying to get the ball out of our hands so [we need to] continue to try to make the right decisions in the pick and roll, read it, and make a decision and live with it.” On making adjustments after Game 1: “We just have to stay physical, continue to compete, and not worry about fouling out, not worry about fouling. Obviously, that plays a factor in the game. We picked up three quick ones in the fourth quarter and they were in the bonus with eight minutes left, so every time you get a foul on Paul [Millsap)] that’s a stoppage in play and they have a chance to get two free throws with the clock stopped. We just have to do a better job of competing, a better job of guarding, and keying in.” On Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic playing off of each other in the pick and roll: “They’re good, they get to their spots. Murray has a good pace, good midrange, and he has a good floater as well. Jokic, he does a little bit of everything. He can pass, he can finish around the basket, and he was hitting threes tonight as well. We have to continue to guard him with five, and make it more difficult.”
