ATLANTA – Some nine hours before Nikola Jokic would put the finishing touches on one of the most dominant performances of his career, Nuggets coach Michael Malone was at shootaround and in no mood to hear any ounce of criticism of his superstar.
Jokic had only recorded four assists over his prior two games, a win in Indiana and the perplexing loss in Washington.
Was that symptomatic of something larger going on with the offense, Malone was asked.
“(The Pacers) were switching pick-and-rolls, he punished the switch, exactly what he should do,” Malone said.