NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 4, 2023

Christian Braun

Denver Nuggets

Game 2: Postgame

Miami Heat 111, Denver Nuggets 108

Q. Can you explain what happened in that fourth quarter?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: We just didn’t play hard enough from the jump. They played really well. That’s how they win games; they punch people in the mouth early and out-tough you. They did that and we got to bounce back.

Q. You guys came out in that second quarter, the bench, and you especially really gave this team a spark. Is that what makes this maybe a little more difficult?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: I mean, yeah. There’s going to be tough games, and like I said, they just outplayed us. They came out and hit shots when they needed to hit shots and had a really good start. We got to bounce back next game.

Q. Michael Malone talked about effort after the game. What did you see in that aspect?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: You don’t lose an NBA Finals game because of effort, and that’s what we did. We know what we got to fix, and it might be the punch in the mouth we need.

Q. To lose at home for the first time in the postseason, how disappointing is that?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: Just got to bounce back.

Q. Bruce said he was concerned with the focus. How do you get that back as you head into Miami?

CHRISTIAN BRAUN: It’s a series for a reason. You don’t lose on one game. You have to come back the next game and perform better. We messed up some switches and we messed up a lot of things that are controllable. We know that that’s not who we are and we’ll get it back next game.