Coach Michael Malone told reporters he wasn’t too concerned when the Nuggets fell behind vs. the Lakers in Game 1 of their Western Conference series.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Malone said. “This is the playoffs. No team in the playoffs, if you get down 12 early, you’re not going to just take your ball and go home. We still have plenty of fight left in us and we know that we were better than what we were playing early.
“That’s a good team over there. They came into the playoffs playing extremely well, and they showed it. (LeBron James) was on course, I thought he’s about to have 50 points tonight, the way he was playing and shooting the ball.”
The Lakers haven’t beaten the Nuggets since Dec. 16, 2022. They had their chances in Game 1, but just couldn’t close.
“I thought we played some good ball tonight, just could have been better,” James said. “You don’t have much room for error versus Denver’s team, especially on their home floor. They’re just a team that’s been through everything.
“Obviously, they’re the defending champions, so you gotta execute, you gotta make shots, you gotta defend. And then you can’t give them extra possessions.”
James added he’s not thinking about last season’s sweep in the Western Conference Finals, or perhaps even the Lakers’ lengthy losing streak vs. Denver.
“I don’t ever get into the ‘here we go again’ mindset,” he said. “One game, they protected their home court. We have another opportunity on Monday to come back and be better.”
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