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.
“They’re not an easy out,” Malone said after Jamal Murray’s second game-winner of the series gave Denver a 108-106 win over the Lakers in Game 5 Monday night. “LeBron James is arguably the greatest player of all-time. Anthony Davis is a Hall of Famer. And they gave us all we could handle.
