With a comeback launched by a super Jamal Murray, Denver also beat the Lakers 108-103 in Game 2 of the Conference Finals.

The Nuggets are beginning to feel the need to take some of the stones off their shoe in regards to who they underestimates. Indeed, there has long been a widespread feeling in Denver that the team is not held in high enough regard by the media and insiders.

It is clear from the coach’s words Mike Malone, even before Game 2: “For the first time in my career I see a series seemingly over in favor of the team that lost Game 1, solely because Hachimura defended on Jokic for six possessions.”

Concept also echoed after the success in the second act.

We won the first game and it was all about the Lakers. The narrative was like, “Okay, the Lakers found the key, they’re down 0-1 but they figured out how to win the series. Nobody talked about the historic performance of Nikola Jokic, a player with 13 triple-doubles in the Playoffs, the third most of any time. He’s doing incredible things but they were talking about the Lakers and their adjustments. Here, you can take this stuff, wrap it up and take it home because we are the ones ahead 2-0. We’re used to this narrative, we talk about others even when we win, it was like that even in the bubble after we knocked off the Clippers. But this way of doing things gives us even more charge and will make winning the title sweeter.

Malone then also talked about Murray with a nice metaphor: “Murray we all know him, we know that he just scores a shot and then he starts to see a hula hoop instead of a basket.. We have Jokic who is great but even phenoms need help and another weapon like Jamal helps so much.”