Nuggets’ Mike Malone Slams Nikola Jokić-Rui Hachimura Narrative Ahead of Lakers G2

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Nikola Jokić was held to 0.67 points per play when guarded by Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura during Denver Nuggets’ 132-126 Game 1 victory over L.A. on Tuesday, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone downplayed Hachimura’s impact ahead of Game 2 on Thursday:

Jokić recorded 34 points in Game 1, but his scoring dropped after the Lakers moved Hachimura to cover him in the fourth quarter. It is likely Denver will see more of that matchup when Game 2 begins at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Jokić recorded his third straight playoff triple-double in Game 1, adding 21 rebounds and 14 assists to his team-leading points total. Many of those points came against Anthony Davis.

Throughout most of the first three quarters, Jokić triumphed in that matchup, shooting 8-of-10 from the field and recording 11 assists in just under 10 minutes with the Lakers star as his primary defender.

With Hachimura on him for about four-and-a-half minutes, however, Jokić went 1-of-3 on field goals and was held to one assist. Meanwhile, Davis was freed up to help LeBron James lead the Lakers to a comeback attempt in the final 15 minutes, during which Los Angeles cut Denver’s 21-point lead to three.

Malone said after reviewing game film Wednesday that the Nuggets have seen defensive schemes like Hachimura’s play on Jokić before and would be ready to counter the Lakers’ plan in Game 2, per ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk.

“There’s this kind of discussion being based [on that] even though the Lakers lost, they’re walking out of here, they think they’ve got something,” Malone said. “I’ll bet you every red penny I have that Darvin Ham would rather be up 1-0 than down 0-1. So for us to be able to watch film after a win and show all the things that we did poorly is a great situation to be in.”

Hachimura saw limited minutes during the Lakers’ six-game conference semifinal series win over the Golden State Warriors, but the Nuggets will expect that to change as he comes out to guard Denver’s biggest threat starting at tipoff Thursday.