By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
The Denver Nuggets fell short to the Los Angeles Clippers 120-97 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals and Nikola Jokic focused on how his team needs to improve defensively in the series in the post-game interview.
“They’re a talented team, we need to fly around, we need to make them work for every basket,” said Jokic.
“I think we didn’t help our main defenders on Kawhi and Paul George. They had a lot of offensive rebounds, Marcus Morris had a lot of threes. I think in that second quarter, they built up a lead in like four possessions. In my mind, it’s like that, but probably it’s not like that. We need to be more focused and not rush shots.”
The Nuggets came into the semifinals from seven-game series vs the Jazz, though, Jokic said that heavy legs weren’t an excuse for the team’s Game 1 performance. “To be honest, I was not tired at all,” he said.