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Mike Conley took the blame after a late-game skirmish.
Minnesota Timberwolves veteran Mike Conley took the blame after Jaden McDaniels scored late against the Denver Nuggets.
With Game 4 in the Timberwolves vs. Nuggets playoff series seemingly being over, Conley threw a long pass to McDaniels, who was expected to dribble the ball out and end the game, which had just a few seconds left in it. Instead, McDaniels decided to lay the ball up and score, which drew the ire of Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic, who immediately confronted McDaniels. That led to a massive skirmish between the two teams in a game the Timberwolves ultimately won 112-96.
Following the game, the media asked Conley his thoughts about what happened with McDaniels, and here’s what the veteran guard said.
Mike Conley on if he was trying to start trouble at the end of the game passing it up to Jaden McDaniels
“(Laughs) nah that was a slip up, that’s all on me I take the blame… as soon as I threw it I looked and I was like “ah it’s Jaden” I almost put my hands on my head and I was
“(Laughs) nah that was a slip up, that’s all on me I take the blame… as soon as I threw it I looked and I was like “ah it’s Jaden” I almost put my hands on my head and I was like “maybe he won’t” and then as soon as I saw him when the ball kind of bounced a couple times “it’s over man” you can even see me like lower my head,” Conley said.
When he scored a layup with just a few seconds left on the clock, McDaniels broke an unwritten NBA rule that you don’t score in a game that is over, especially when there are no defenders nearby. Some may argue that since this rule is nowhere in the actual NBA rulebook, McDaniels did nothing wrong. But for many years, players have been taught not to do what he did, so it’s understandable why Jokic and the Nuggets were upset that McDaniels laid the ball up.
It will be interesting to see if anything comes out of this in Game 5. Ultimately, the best way for the Nuggets to get the last laugh is if they can beat the Timberwolves and win this game. But McDaniels is doing a great job of getting in their heads and throwing them off their game mentally, even if you don’t agree with what he did scoring the ball late in a game that was already decided.
With Game 4 now in the books, the Nuggets are down 3-1 in the series against the Timberwolves, so their backs are up against the wall as they head into Game 5 back at home. For the Nuggets, they were the higher seed in the matchup and the betting favorite to win the series. But so far during this playoff series, it has been the Timberwolves who have gotten the better of them.
After Game 4, Jokic admitted that his play has been “average” and that he must be better if the team is going to come back and win the series. While Jokic’s numbers have been great compared to most players, when you are a three-time NBA MVP, you expect to be great every night, and he knows he has to be at his best if the Nuggets are going to come back and win this series.
Adam Martin Adam Martin is a sports journalist with over 15 years of experience. He has a speciality in MMA, while also covering the Big 4 Sports. Adam is currently a contributor to Heavy.com, with previous experience working for The Toronto Star, Sportsnet, theScore, Bookies, BJPenn.com, and MMAOddsbreaker.com. More about Adam Martin
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