Denver says sideline spat 'out of the system' as Nuggets return home trailing Golden State Warriors 2-0

DENVER — Michael Malone said the Denver Nuggets left their bickering and at times uncontrollable frustration behind in San Francisco as they hope to turn their first-round series around against the Golden State Warriors.

The Nuggets insist they are unified after teammates Will Barton and DeMarcus Cousins got into a verbal spat on the sideline during a second-half meltdown against the Warriors in Game 2.

Point guard Monte Morris said after that 126-106 loss on Monday that Nuggets players spoke up in the locker room.

«That was out of the system before we got on the plane,» Malone said on Wednesday after Nuggets practice. «We handled that internally and we move forward.»

«We are together,» added Malone, whose team will try to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole against the Warriors in Thursday's Game 3 at Ball Arena. «We are fine. We moved past that. We go into the game as one unit. There is no hangover from what happened during that game.»

Malone has said that the Nuggets have no chance of beating the Warriors if they are fighting and beating themselves. Through the first two games, Denver has had no answer for Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

Poole is averaging 29.5 points in the starting lineup, and Curry has averaged 25 points off the bench as he continues to make his way back from injury. Thompson has averaged 20 points per game in the series and Green has successfully slowed down reigning MVP Nikola Jokic.

Jokic is averaging 25.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 5 assists. But Jokic has been frustrated with the officiating and was ejected in the fourth quarter of Game 2 after earning his second technical foul for arguing with a referee over what he thought was a foul that wasn't called.

Jokic also