Michael Malone explodes after the crushing defeat of the Denver Nuggets: "To hell, we will not forget this humiliation"

After the Denver Nuggets were "humiliated" in a 145-118 defeat against the New York Knicks, coach Michael Malone exploded.

"To hell with that, no. We're not going to forget it," Malone responded firmly to a reporter. "You don't forget when you get humiliated, you don't forget when you allow 145 points, you don't forget when you don't play hard, you don't play with effort, you don't play with physicality. I'm not going to ignore anything."

The Knicks dominated from the start, leading by 12 points at the end of the first quarter, 23 at halftime, and even by 30 at some point. The New York offense was unstoppable, shooting 60.9% from the field and dishing out 45 assists, equaling the franchise's historical record set in 1979 against Cleveland. The 145 points were the most scored by a visitor at Ball Arena since the Lakers' 146 in 2022, and the highest in a regulation game since the Suns reached 153 in 1991.

The loss left the Nuggets with a surprising 5-4 record at home this season, after finishing the previous one with an impressive 33-8 at home. Jalen Brunson was instrumental for the Knicks, scoring nine consecutive points in the first quarter and lifting the team with a 9-2 run against Denver. Brunson finished with 23 points, while OG Anunoby achieved a career-high 40 points. On Denver's side, Russell Westbrook contributed 27 points off the bench, and Nikola Jokic finished with 22 points, although he only managed seven rebounds, his lowest total of the season.

Malone didn't hesitate to point out the lack of leadership, especially from his starters. "Russell Westbrook is vocal, but we need more than that," he said. "I need Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, I need those who have been here and are in the starting lineup to speak. Today we got embarrassed. We're 16 games into the season and still talking about effort, toughness, physicality. Regardless of who is in or out, who do we want to be as a team? Leadership, toughness, physicality, and playing like you care, that would be great, but today we didn’t do it."

Nikola Jokic Doesn't Hide

Jokic agreed with his coach's assessment. "We didn't show up tonight," he stated. "Sometimes, a good slap in the face wakes you up. The coach is right. We go into games and we're always 20 down at halftime. I don't know what's going on. We don’t warm up, we don’t wake up, or we just don't play hard enough. I don't know what it is, but as a team, we need to do a better job."

Malone also acknowledged the difference in focus between the two teams. "The Knicks played like a team coming off a bad loss in Utah, and we played like we had won in L.A. and could just show up today." Murray mentioned that Saturday's victory against the Lakers may have affected the team's concentration. "It's a long season. Players have lives outside of basketball," he explained. "We just beat L.A. in L.A., some guys live there and stayed. I don't think everyone was focused, and that's what happens when you lack concentration."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Michael Malone estalla, tras la durísima derrota de Denver Nuggets: "A la mierda, no vamos a olvidar esta humillación"