NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: LAKERS VS. NUGGETS

September 18, 2020

Jamal Murray

Denver Nuggets

Game 1: Postgame

Los Angeles Lakers 126, Denver Nuggets 114

Q. Coach has talked about how transition defense has been a big emphasis in this series. What needs to change in that aspect, even beyond just the live ball turnovers because they're running it off of made shots even.

JAMAL MURRAY: When you look at that last series, it was a completely different series. Two completely different teams that play two different ways. So I think we just got to adjust. The pace kind of, even after we made baskets, we were trying to get matched up and everything.

We just got to be better. We just got to be on point. We got to talk more, talk earlier, point, whatever we got to do. We're going to be cross-matched at times, but as long as we keep a body in front and trust the rotations, we should be all right. But, yeah, they came in and the pace kind of changed in the way that we we ready for.

Q. I'm curious, what is the vibe in the locker room after that loss? Obviously, it's just one game, but what's the biggest point of emphasis for you guys in terms of changes going into Game 2 now?

JAMAL MURRAY: We just finished the game. I don't know about the changes yet. Obviously, it's the first game. We're not going to overreact. We just got to be better. The first half really didn't go our way and that really took us out of a lot of stuff. I felt like we should have had the lead if it wasn't for some unfortunate things that happened.

But, yeah, we'll just come back and be better and try to be more physical and try to hit them early, try to get on a run and push the pace in our favor.

Q. You said you thought you should have had the lead, but at the beginning of that second quarter, they reeled off a 17-1 run that obviously flipped the game and kind of set the tone for the rest of it. What happened in those first few minutes of the second quarter?

JAMAL MURRAY: If you watched the game, you could tell. Yeah, if you watched the game, then you could tell.

Q. How do you guys moving forward adapt to the whistles?

JAMAL MURRAY: Just try to play through it. It's tough. They want to talk about every call and have full conversations and try to manipulate what happens, but you can't worry about it. We know how it's going to be. We know we're the younger team. We're just going to play through it. We're going to find a way and we're not going to go away so easy.

Q. Two things: You faced questions as a team of physicality in both of the first two series and responded very well. Is this a whole different beast because the Lakers can play so big? And second, talking about fouls, do you have to win your respect from the whistle rather than lobby for the respect or argue for the respect?

JAMAL MURRAY: No, respect is earned in every aspect. With your play, with how you talk to the referees. I always try to be as respectful as I can when I go to talk to them. You can ask every single one of them. But it's something you can't focus on. The calls aren't always going to go your way and you can't complain about it. I tried to learn that as a young player and you just got to play through it. They're not trying to make the wrong call. They're just out there doing their job. I'm going to miss shots and they're going to miss calls, or I might make a bad pass and they might make a bad call. It's just going to happen. But like I said, just don't overreact. Keep playing through it and we'll be all right.

I'm not going to sit here and just blame it on the refs. That's not what I'm doing. We just got to play through it and earn the respect.

Q. It seemed like you guys were getting the shots you were looking for early in the game. Did something happen along the way that made it tougher for that to happen?

JAMAL MURRAY: No, no, we got the shots we wanted. I just think that the rate that they were scoring, we didn't stand them up and get three stops in a row or make them call the first timeout in quarters, stuff like that. We got to get our defense going. When we play defense, we score at a much higher rate as well.

Especially with their pace, they get up-and-down a lot and they try to make those runs seem a lot bigger than it is. I missed a couple layups. Paul [Millsap] had a wide-open layup. We were joking about that earlier. But that makes the run seem a lot bigger when you miss those bunnies. So we just got to convert and be more solid.