Nuggets coach Michael Malone: defense of NBA title won't get any easier against Wolves in Round 2
The Denver Nuggets needed just five games to dispatch the Los Angeles Lakers from the playoffs for a second consecutive year
DENVER (AP) — Sending LeBron James to his earliest playoff exit was harder than it looked, and Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone doesn’t foresee the next step in their title defense getting any easier.
Not with the likes of Karl Anthony-Towns, Rudy Gobert and Anthony Edwards up next when the Minnesota Timberwolves visit the Mile High City this weekend for the start of their second-round series.
Malone's relieved that the Nuggets don't have to return to L.A. to close out the Lakers and instead can focus on rest and recovery after a hard-fought series in which they trailed most of the time before facing the Timberwolves, who completed their sweep of the Suns on Sunday.
This might have been the hardest 4-1 series win in NBA history. The Nuggets trailed by double digits in the first four games and by nine Monday night before their championship chutzpah once again showed up just in time.
