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Serbia's Nikola Jokic, triple MVP and leader of the Denver Nuggets, said Sunday that opponents face them with more hunger due to being NBA champions and lamented the loss suffered at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves that eliminated them from the playoffs.
"It's tough. Teams are hungrier now, everyone probably wants to beat us," Jokic said at the press conference after the Nuggets' 90-98 loss. He scored 34 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists, but could not prevent the setback at home for the Nuggets, already eliminated from the fight for the ring.
The Wolves came back from a 20-point deficit to qualify for the Western Finals, where they will face Luka Doncic's Dallas Mavericks. "The better team won. In a best-of-seven-game series I think whoever wins is the better team. Congratulations to them. We had chances, but they beat us," said the Serbian center.
Satisfaction in Minnesota
Karl Anthony Towns, one of the protagonists of the victory of the Minnesota Timberwolves this Sunday in the field of the Denver Nuggets (98-90) in the seventh game of the semifinals of the West, assured that this is the moment to take advantage of the occasion and go to the end in the NBA.
"We are very happy for this moment, nor can we think about the next series (Western Finals against the Dallas Mavericks). If we keep playing like the Wolves we are going to get results," Towns said after the Denver game.
The Dominican starred with 23 points, 12 rebounds and a great defensive performance against Jokic in the win that gave the Wolves a berth in the West Finals for the first time in 20 years.
"Our fans have been waiting for this moment for a long time and this team made it happen. It's up to us to seize this moment. If we play our basketball, we'll get our results," he said. Towns used his press conference to send a message of appreciation to Kevin Garnett, the Wolves' leader in 2004 when they reached the West Finals.
"It's a special moment. We played against a great team, with the best player on the planet (referring to Jokic), and our team fought," Minnesota coach Chris Finch said at the postgame press conference.
"Our offense didn't work in the first half, and we picked up the pace defensively. We wanted to do simpler things on offense, even when we were down. And in the third quarter we came together, made some good plays," added the coach.