CNN
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The shocking fire of Denver Nuggets manager Michael Malone in early April brought about a change in the “energy” around the team, Serbian superstar Nikola Djokic confirmed after a 120-101 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.
Malone led the team to the NBA title two seasons ago, but he was owed a four-game winning streak, along with general manager Calvin Booth, when he was fired by Nuggets vice-president Josh Kroenke on April 8th.
Since then, Malone’s longtime assistant coach David Adelman has been at the helm, winning the next four games, securing the advantages of the home court in the first round of the playoffs, and making it to the second round with Saturday’s victory.
“The owner… I think he wanted to change something and change the energy. He probably did,” Jokic told reporters after the game. “He got the results he was looking for.”
The Nuggets have improved significantly since Adelman took charge, and Saturday’s victory was the most impressive ever. The Clippers won 18 of their final 21 games in the regular season and joined the series as favorites, but scored 35 points on one point in Game 7.
Six Denver players contributed over 15 points, becoming the first team in NBA history, and did so with Game 7 wins.
Aaron Gordon led the score with 22 points, four rebounds and five assists. Christian Brown added 21 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Jokic contributed 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Kowhi Leonard scored 22 points, five rebounds and two assists for the Clippers, but James Harden was limited to just 7 points with two-eighth fire thanks to excellent defense from Christian Brown.
“The rebound and defense were amazing,” Jokic said. “We had a lot of opportunities to run, a lot of people stepped up and a lot of people made baskets.”
The victory somehow went to revenge the memory of Denver’s Game 7 exit to the Minnesota Timber Wolves in the second round last year, blowing a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter.
This year’s second round of Nuggets’ opponents are 68-14 in the regular season and often rest after cleaning up the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.
The matchup pitches Jokic against his main regular season MVP rival, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but the Serbs preferred to reporters to focus on the Thunder’s collective capabilities.
“They’re always pushing pace, they play a lot of energy. They’re a lot of deflection, a lot of stealing, attacking glass,” he said. “They are the best species for a reason.”
The series begins Monday night in Oklahoma.
