Denver Rises in the Fourth Quarter, Tie the Series vs. Spurs, 114-105

Denver Nuggets are alive. After last night’s victory over the San Antonio Spurs, 114-105, Mike Malone’s team tied the score in the series to 1-1. For the young Nuggets team, this was a very important thing.

“We had to have this one,” Denver’s Paul Millsap said. “Going down 0-2 into San Antonio would’ve been a tough situation for us.

The team with the best home record was on the verge of losing its second straight game in the playoff at Pepsi Center, which would no doubts, made their situation pretty problematic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNMph1iluQw

Twice in this game, Denver had -19. The first time during the second quarter, 42-23, and with 4 1/2 minutes before the end of the third sequence. Rudy Gay had and-one, and after making his shot from the line, guests were up 78-59.

The Nuggets were going nowhere, and Mike Malone didn’t want to let them crash, but instead tried to motivate his crew mentioning the Clippers’ fantastic comeback from the night before.

“I could see on some guys’ faces which way is this game going to go?” Malone said. “… I reminded them what the Clippers did [Monday] night and how much basketball is left.”

And all of a sudden the hosts were back into the game. Jokic and Harris scored five points each, and with a little help of the others, brought their team within 10 points away from the rival.

But besides the energy, the hosts got one more thing — their best shooter. Jamal Murray has been out of these series until the start of the fourth quarter of last night’s clash. He ruined Game 1 for the Nuggets, by missing all the vital shots and losing the ball in the final moments of the encounter.

In Game 2, Murray opened the match with 8 straight misses from the field. He was so frustrated that Malone had to calm him down at the halftime.

“He was so frustrated at halftime, not making shots, shots that he’s made his whole career,” Malone said. “I just grabbed him and told him take a deep breath.”

“I had to stay with Jamal — make or miss — because he’s our guy, and I care about him.”

Nuggets coach Mike Malone believes in Jamal Murray. pic.twitter.com/Eh0sCDHIGq

— ESPN (@espn) April 17, 2019

Murray delivered 21 of his 24 points in the last quarter, missing just one shot in nine attempts. And when he plays well, the rivals don’t have too many chances against Denver, especially in Colorado.

“Just the way I imagined it,” Murray spoke about his perfect fourth period. “When I get into the zone, everybody knows I get in a zone. … I go crazy. I have a lot of fun. I love the game with a passion. I was hot and I decided to pull up.”

Denver was in the zone too, as they dropped 39 points on Spurs’ defense in the final 12 minutes. Gregg Popovich was furious at his players, and at the refs also, but his technical foul didn’t change anything on the court.

Spurs allowed an 8-0 series in the moments when the game was on the line, and the home team pulled away to 110-101, which practically sealed this contest.

The Nuggets had four players with 20 or more points. Murray had a team-high 23, Gary Harris 23 with 5 boards. Paul Millsap finished the match with 20 points, 7 boards, and 7 of 10 from the field.

Nikola Jokic was flirting with another triple-double as the Serb finished short two assists. Besides that, he had 21 buckets, 13 boards, and two steals, bouncing back after the pale first performance.

"We came out in the fourth and we said let's go." 💪

@3DTV talked to @BeMore27 after he was BIG down the stretch for the Nuggets to take Game 2!#MileHighBasketball | #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/KLXgIuQOa4

— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 17, 2019

For the Spurs, DeRozan was exceptional pouring 31 points, shooting 11 of 19 from the field. Aldridge added 24 with 8 boards. Guests were terrible from downtown with just 27.8%, five made in 18 attempts.

But coach Popovich didn’t care too much about that. He was pretty upset with the way Spurs handled matters on the defensive end of the court in the last period.

“We gave up 39 points in the fourth quarter. End of story,” Pop stated.

The series is now moving to Texas, to AT&T Center where Nuggets didn’t win since 2012. It will be a colossal task for them to overcome that adversity, but they have no other option. If they want to eliminate the Spurs that has to take place in this series.