Malone warns: We can even do better

DENVER—Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone told his players on Saturday that they “haven’t done a damn thing” despite an opening-game romp over the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

The Nuggets, led by 27 points from Nikola Jokic and 26 by Jamal Murray, ripped visiting Miami 104-93 on Thursday for a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven championship series ahead of Sunday’s game two in Denver.

But Malone was not pleased about the opportunities the Nuggets allowed the Heat and urged players not to get swelled heads with pride over winning without playing their best.

“I told our players today, ‘Don’t read the paper, don’t listen to the folks on the radio and TV saying that this series is over and that we’ve done something, because we haven’t done a damn thing,’” Malone said.

“I told our players the reason I was excited this morning is because we won game one and we didn’t play well and there are so many things we can do better. If we do those things at a better level, we’ll have a chance to win game two.”

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic added 10 rebounds and 14 assists while Murray also contributed 10 assists as the Nuggets led by as many as 24 points in the third quarter before the Heat trimmed the margin in the final quarter.

“They were 5-of-16 on wide-open threes,” Malone said of Miami’s longrange shooting. “The fact they got 16

Nuggets’ coach Michael Malone wide-open threes is problematic and if you think that Max Strus is going to go 0-for-9 again or Duncan Robinson is going to go 1-for-5 again, you’re wrong.

“The fourth quarter, we gave up 30 points, 60% from the field, 6-of-12 from the three-point line.

“I thought our pick-and-roll defense was poor. I thought our shrink the floor was poor... There are so many areas we can clean up.

“I’m not worried about what they’re going