Nuggets’ Michael Malone Warns Heat Will Be ‘Desperate,’ ‘Hungry’

He knows exactly what it takes to come back from a 3–1 deficit.

The Nuggets are just one win away from the franchise’s first-ever NBA title, but you wouldn’t think so based on coach Michael Malone’s Sunday comments. Ahead of Game 5 in Denver, Malone said “human nature” is the biggest concern for his team going in with a 3–1 advantage. 

“Most teams, when they’re up 3–1, they come up for air. They relax,” Malone told reporters. “They just kind of take it for granted that, ‘Oh, we’re gonna win this.’ And the neat thing for us is that going back to The Bubble, we’ve been down 3–1 before and we’ve come back and won and we know anything is possible.”  

The longtime coach recalls the 2020 Western Conference semifinals and how Denver came back from a 3–1 deficit over the Clippers. Having been in that position before, he knows exactly the kind of mindset the Heat will have. 

"My biggest concern going into any closeout game is human nature."

Michael Malone on how his team's experience being down 3-1 and coming back twice in 2020 has taught them to play desperate, even when leading in a series. pic.twitter.com/9wa0YzmB6b

— NBA (@NBA) June 11, 2023

“Our approach has to be that we’re down 3–1,” he said. “They’re desperate, we have to be more desperate. They’re hungry, we have to be hungrier. The closeout game is always the hardest game ever.”

The only team to ever come back from a 3–1 deficit in the Finals was the 2016 Cavaliers when they defeated the Warriors. Miami will try to be the second, but it’ll have to start Monday night in Game 5. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.