This much we’ve figured out about the Nuggets.They’re some weird, stubborn, basketball unicorns. Not wired conventionally for success, they’re as lovably goofy as center ’s grin.
Denver beat Portland 116-112 on Sunday in what, truth be told, was more a tightrope act than an NBA playoff game.
Whatap the conventional wisdom about how to win in April, May or June? Well, forget all that. A best-of-seven series doesn’t really get started for the Nuggets until they have one foot dangling over the abyss.
“I think we don’t like to lose more than we like to win,” said Jokic, philosopher king of the triple-double. “Which is weird.”
True dat, Joker.
These Nuggets are equal parts weird, splendid and built like nothing you’ve ever seen. Like a unicorn.
Fewer than 48 hours after having their hearts broken into 68 pieces by a four-overtime loss, the Nuggets were laughing in the cramped, steamy visitors locker room at the Moda Center.
As television cameras engulfed and pulled on a shirt adorned with sailboats and players bathed in lotion because there was no soap to be found in the showers, there was no hint of emotional or physical fatigue. In fact, the running joke among the Nuggets was a line they repeated to each other in the locker room after staring down trouble in this series:
“Don’t worry about a thing, sweetheart … Sweetheart … Don’t you worry about a thing.”
Remember that 140-137 classic on Friday night that will go down as the greatest loss in franchise history? Well, not even two full days later, the Nuggets barely could recall the details. Or so they insisted.
And maybe thatap how the Nuggets didn’t let that bitter defeat wreck them emotionally, although coach Michael Malone did admit it messed with his ability to sleep.
“I think there are two different types of people: Those who like to win and those who hate to lose. I will definitely characterize myself as much more a person that hates to lose,” Malone said.
“Winning is great. Thatap what we’re here for. But what keeps you up as a coach and as a competitor is a loss. You lie in your bed, you have nightmares about: ‘What could I have done? How could I have helped my team more?’”
In Game 4, the Nuggets survived 28 points from magnificent Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard and incessant whining from Enes Kanter, as well as the hue, not to mention the cry, from more than 20,000 fans in one of the league’s classic, old basketball cathedrals. Denver held on in the fourth quarter, repeatedly teasing Portland with the prospect of giving away this game and series, but never allowing the Blazers to quite catch up.
Jokic had a triple-double (21 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists), because thatap what this Joker does. Those assists are really worth emphasizing, because down the stretch, Jokic fed Barton for 3-point looks and let Murray control the ball in the final seconds, as the Denver point guard who practiced free throws blindfolded as a kid sank six straight foul shots to ice an hard-fought victory.
“Nikola Jokic is a great player. And you know why? He makes everyone of his teammates better,” Malone said.
In that regard, Jokic is Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. Maybe this Joker really is more football quarterback than basketball center, because the most beautiful thing he does is pass.
About 75 minutes after the final buzzer, as Malone dried his scalp and pulled on some comfies to wear on the team flight back home to Denver, I told him this was a pretty special victory for a guy who hates to lose.
Malone laughed.
“Growing up, I was that kid that whenever I lost, I literally cried,” said Malone, after watching Denver overcome a 2-1 deficit against the Blazers with a road victory, the same as the Nuggets stared into the abyss without blinking during their previous playoff series against San Antonio.
“This is why coaching is such a sick, twisted business. After a loss, you can’t sleep, thinking about ‘What could I have done better?’ and this and that. After a win, you have this euphoria. Thatap what I have right now: euphoria. Itap like a drug. I’m thinking, ‘Oh, man. We just tied up this series.’
That thrill of victory? It is powerful stuff. But it never lasts.
“You know whatap going to happen? I’m going to get on that plane and going to watch my film of this game. I’m going to go home, see my wife and kids, then get some sleep,” Malone said.
“But when I wake up in the morning, I’m going to have a knot in my stomach. Because we have to do this thing all over again. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Do it again. Thatap why coaches are sick, twisted individuals, because the challenge never ends.”
So our basketball unicorns from the Rocky Mountains live to play another day. Game 5 is scheduled Tuesday at the . The team that hates to lose more than it loves to win will be there.
Come along for the ride, if you dare.
There will be knots in the stomach. Guaranteed.
“I never quarrel with a man who buys ink by the barrel,” former Indiana Rep. Charles Brownson said of the press. But we need your help to keep up with the rising cost of ink.
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