Malone rips Nuggets after blowout loss: Jokic, Murray need to be vocal
Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone blasted his team's effort and demanded more leadership from his starters after Monday's 145-118 blowout loss at home to the New York Knicks.
"Well, yeah, I mean like Russell Westbrook, he's vocal - but we need more than Russell Westbrook," Malone told reporters, according to ESPN. "I need Nikola Jokic, I need Jamal Murray, I need guys that have been here in that starting lineup to be vocal. And you know tonight we got embarrassed."
He continued: "We're 16 games in and we're talking about effort, we're talking about toughness, we're talking about physicality. ... And regardless of who's in, who's out, who do we want to be as a team? So, yeah, leadership would be great, toughness would be great, physicality would be great, playing like you actually care would be great, and we didn't do that tonight."
Murray says some of his teammates stayed back in Los Angeles after Saturday's victory over the Lakers, which might have contributed to their lackluster showing at Ball Arena.
"It's a long season. Guys have lives outside of basketball," the Nuggets star told reporters, per DNVR Sports' Harrison Wind. "We just beat L.A. in L.A. We've got some guys who live in L.A., so stayed in L.A. ... I don't think the focus was there from everybody, and that's what happens when you don't have the focus.
"It's not on coach (Malone). It's not on what plays we're running. It's not on anybody else but the guys that are out there on the court."
We all stayed in LA BTW! and had a great win. Not excluding myself guys we didn’t play together tonight✌🏽
— Jamal Murray (@BeMore27) November 26, 2024
New York led by as many as 30 points in a dominant offensive performance. The Knicks tallied 62 points in the paint, 17 second-chance points, and 24 fast-break points.
They knocked down 19 triples and shot a scorching 60.9% from the field. OG Anunoby led the balanced attack with a career-high 40 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 points and 15 boards.
Jalen Brunson also dished out 17 of New York's 45 dimes to help tie a single-game franchise record.
The Knicks' 145-point outburst was the most surrendered by the Nuggets in regulation at home since April 1991.