For the third series in a row, the Denver Nuggets are now trailing 3-1. They lost Game 4 last night to the Lakers and now are one game away from elimination. Coach Mike Malone had some sarcastic remarks about this defeat during the post-game press conference.

The Lakers received 35 free throws in the game, compared to 23 for the Nuggets. So Malone said, “I’m going to have to go through the proper channels like they did to get some more free throws.”

He was referring to the LeBron James and the Lakers formally complaining about the lack of free throws for them in the previous games. He had a total of 10 free throws in the first three games. And following the complaint, he received a whopping 14 free throws in Game 4.

Denver Nuggets: Outmuscled and outrebounded

During the press conference, Malone was asked about the 25 second-chance points they conceded and if that was the main reason for the loss. Staring at the numbers before him, Malone agreed.

“A huge number, and it was like that the whole night,” he said. “Dwight Howard had 6, nobody touched him at all in that first quarter. He could do whatever he wanted. 25-6 second points advantage is really hard to overcome. We had good possessions on defense, we were just unwilling to finish it off with a rebound.”

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“We’re coming off a Game 3, where it was 4 offensive rebounds for four points. They were more physical, they were more aggressive and that’s one of the main reasons we lost.”

The Lakers were badly outrebounded in Game 3, and last night they showed the urgency to improve on that front. They had 41 rebounds, eight more than the Nuggets. They also had a whopping 12 offensive rebounds and made the most of the Nuggets defense who were caught napping.

Heading into Game 5, the Nuggets will have their backs against the wall. They have come back from this exact situation twice in a row now. But doing it for the third time will not be easy, especially against a team like the Lakers.