First Take crew absolutely blasts Nuggets’ Mike Malone

To the surprise of many, the Minnesota Timberwolves are headed to the Western Conference Finals to face the Dallas Mavericks after knocking out the defending NBA champions the Denver Nuggets, 98-90.

At one point, the Nuggets were up by as many as 20 before making a furious comeback to take the lead and win the game.

The “First Take” crew of Stephen A. Smith, Tim Legler, and Shannon Sharpe had plenty to say about the Denver collapse.

Stephen A. praised the T-Wolves for first of all winning the series and then saving his neck after he made a bold prediction about them and then he took it back.

“Major, major props to them,” he stated. “I just want to thank the Minnesota Timberwolves helped me save face. They saved me! If this defense shows up against those brothers, championship!

The T-Wolves’ defense shut down the Nuggets which allowed for this comeback. Stephen A. also called Nuggets head coach Mike Malone for how he treated a reporter who asked him a question about the team blowing a lead.

Malone called it a “dumb *ss question.”

It was a very respectful question. You are up 20 and yall lost. The reporter was very, very respectful, he said. ‘A loss is a loss.”

Shannon Sharpe went even further.

“You have to handle disappointment and prosperity the same way, you must handle it with grace and dignity and he should apologize to the reporter,” he said.

Legler agreed with Smith and Sharpe but understood why Malone was upset. He really wasn’t upset with the reporter but with his team for not making a run.

“He’s angry cause he challenged his team, he wanted to go on a run of titles. That’s why I think he was so frustrated, it was right there,” he said.

Legler added he expects Malone to at some point apologize for his comments but in the meantime, the Mavs and the T-Wolves will face each other in the Western Conference Finals starting Tuesday night.

{First Take}