DeRozan About Game 7 in Denver: “We Have to be Eager, Desperate and In Control”

The San Antonio Spurs are alive. Gregg Popovich and his boys defeated Denver Nuggets at AT&T Center last night and force Game 7 of this exciting series.

The five-time champions beat the Nuggets 120-103 with the game being decided in the last period when the home team ruled the court.

It was 30-18 for the Spurs in the final 12 minutes, as they cracked the resistance of the guests with a powerful start of that sequence. Aldridge, DeRozan and the rest of the boys made a 17-2 run which sealed the fate of the rivals.

“We understood what we had to come here and do tonight, it wasn’t much needed to be said,” DeRozan told at the press conference.

And it really was like that, because the Spurs were with their backs against the wall. Denver was up 3-2 in the series, and another loss would mean that the season is over for the Spurs.

Everything started perfectly for the home team who quickly reached a 10-point lead at the end of the opening quarter, 34-24.

Things had changed in the second period, when Denver came back, but still, the Spurs had control of the game.

Nikola Jokic began hammering San Antonio’s defense in the third quarter, dropping 17 points on them, with 8 of 9 from the field. The Serbian fella scored 27 of his 43 points in the second half, and was the most dominant figure on the court. Yet, he was alone and didn’t have any support from his teammates.

In the moments when he left the floor in the third, Denver was three points behind. When he got back, the Spurs were already having +13.

The home team was running wild at the start of the fourth as they sensed a small drop in Denver’s game, which is something they were looking for during the entire clash.

“Whatever they do we had to match it. We had to keep our rhythm going, being aggressive on both ends, and we did that,” Spurs’ All-Star explained how his team behaved in the moments when Jokic and Nuggets tried to make a push in the third.

In no time, San Antonio was up 107-87, and the game was wrapped up.

“Nobody wanted this thing to end. We understood what we had to come out here and do,” former Toronto Raptors’ superstar said. “Now, it is time for us to go back on the road and close this thing up.”

But that easier said than done. Yes, the Spurs did beat Nuggets in Game 1 at Pepsi Center, but after that Jokic and the guys replied.

Denver is the best team when looking at the home record in the NBA’s regular part of the season. Nuggets had only 7 losses, in 41 contests, and this will be one hell of a job to do here.

Meanwhile, DeRozan knows the ingredients for another road win in this series, and he didn’t hesitate to tell them publicly, at the press conference.

“We have to be eager, desperate, but on the control, understanding what needs to be done playing with smarts.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXz_-aTrNnQ

DeRozan is averaging 21.5 points in the series against the Nuggets, and besides that, he is contributing on so many levels to his team. The shooting percentage he produces every night is superb, and with 52% so far, he has been Denver’s biggest problem. Mid-range jumpers or layups, his versatility is giving Mike Malone a headache.

He had several series with the Raptors in which he experienced Game 7 which is why he might be a decisive factor this Saturday in Colorado.

The inexperienced opponent might not know how to act in certain situations, and that is a chance for DeRozan and few other veterans from San Antonio’s crew to step up and exploit that.

The final game of this matchup starts at 9 p.m. local time.