The Denver Nuggets suffered a heartbreaking road loss against the Los Angeles Clippers tonight. A win tonight would have put the defending Champions back on top of the Western Conference. Instead, they lost the game 100-102 in a nail-biting finish. A major reason for the Nuggets’ loss was the 4th quarter ejection of head coach Michael Malone. As the game progressed, things got chippy on the court, leading to Malone getting booted from the game.

As the Nuggets were trying to overcome an 8-point deficit in the 4th quarter, Michael Porter Jr. rose for a three-pointer but bricked the shot. The Nuggets believed Porter got fouled on that play by Clippers Center Ivica Zubac. But the officials did not blow the whistle. The play continued after the no-call, and Porter got called for a foul on Zubac on the other end. Michael Malone was infuriated by the officials not calling a foul on the previous play, and started yelling at them. He earned a quick technical foul for his outrage. However, it did not end there!

Malone did not stop after getting his first tech. He entered the court, charged toward the second official, and started yelling at him. That led to Malone’s second technical foul in quick succession, and he got ejected from the game.

Malone cursed out the referee as he left the court. “F**k you guys.” Malone yelled. The Nuggets head coach’s outrage also led to a hilarious reaction from Clippers star James Harden. He knew what was coming after Malone’s second technical foul and co-ejected the head coach in sync with the official.

Nikola Jokic and Co. crumbled under pressure without Michael Malone

Michael Malone’s ejection played a huge part in Denver’s failed comeback. After Malone was asked to leave, David Adelman took over the Nuggets as the backup coach. But his lack of experience was evident in the final seconds of the game. After James Harden missed the three-pointer to extend the Clippers’ lead, Denver got a chance to win or tie the game with more than 8 seconds on the clock. But Adelman wasted nearly 4 seconds before calling a time-out to set up the final play. Peyton Watson was confused about what to do with the ball and passed it to Jokic before the time-out was called.

Adelman’s error proved disastrous for the Nuggets, as they got only 5 seconds to execute their game-winning play. Nikola Jokic got the ball from the inbound pass and was forced to chuck a Hail Mary three-pointer to win the game. The 2-time MVP bricked the shot, leading to a 2-point Nuggets loss. Had Michael Malone been on the court, he could have made quicker and sharper decisions and drawn up a better play to help the Nuggets win. Nikola Jokic and Co. might have missed a great opportunity to reclaim the top spot because of Malone’s late-game antics.

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