Michael Malone Says Nuggets Didn't 'Play Well' in G1 Win vs. Heat: 'Defense Was Poor'

The Denver Nuggets may have defeated the Miami Heat 104-93 in Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals, but Michael Malone still wasn't satisfied with his team's performance on the defensive end.

"I don't think we played well in Game 1," the Nuggets head coach told reporters Saturday. "… I told our players today, don't read the paper, don't listen to the folks on radio or TV… there are so many things we can do better… I thought our defense was poor."

Immediately after Game 1, Malone told reporters that he felt the team's defense was "where it needed to be" for three quarters but that the fourth quarter could have been better as the Nuggets allowed 30 points.

"As I told our players, we're up 1-0 and that's great, but we have to close games out," Malone said Thursday. "We're up 21 to start that fourth quarter, and they open up with a quick 8-0 run. ... In the finals you can't pick and choose when you want to play. We've got to play much closer to 48 minutes."

Miami didn't make it easy for Denver on Thursday night, and things could have gone far differently had the Heat knocked down some more shots.

The Heat made just 39 of 96 shots from the floor (40.6 percent) and 13 of 39 shots from beyond the arc (33.3 percent) in Game 1. Miami also shot just 31 percent (5 of 16) on wide-open threes in Game 1 after hitting 49 percent of wide-open three-pointers in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics.

Denver needs to do a much better job of limiting Miami's shots in Game 2, especially considering the Nuggets only attempted 79 field goals on Thursday night compared to Miami's 96.

Game 2 between the Nuggets and Heat is set for Sunday at 8 p.m. ET in Denver.