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Michael Malone Falls Short In Coach Of Year Voting, Nikola Jokic 4th In MVP Vote

/ CBS Colorado

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (CBS4) - Denver coach Michael Malone was beaten out by Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer in the NBA's Coach of the Year award on Monday night. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic also was fourth in MVP voting.

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NBA coach Michael Malone and guest arrive for the 2019 NBA Awards at Barker Hangar on June 24, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by LISA O'CONNOR / AFP) (Photo credit should read LISA O'CONNOR/AFP/Getty Images)

Malone attended the NBA Awards in Santa Monica, California, after his team wound up with 54 wins and secured the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs before losing to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference semifinals.

Denver Nuggets v Golden State Warriors
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 02: Head coach Michael Malone of the Denver Nuggets complains about a call during their game against the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena on April 02, 2019 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers was also in the running for the award and wound up second in the voting while Malone was third.

2019 NBA Awards Presented By Kia On TNT - Red Carpet
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 24: Mike Malone attends the 2019 NBA Awards presented by Kia on TNT at Barker Hangar on June 24, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Turner Sports)

Budenholzer guided the Bucks to a 60-22 record in the regular season in his first year with the franchise, leading them to the Eastern Conference finals, where they lost to eventual NBA champion Toronto. He won the award for the second time. He first earned the trophy with the with Atlanta Hawks in 2015.

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Nikola Jokic (Photo Credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Jokic placed fourth in the voting for the league MVP award behind winnter Giannis Antetokounmpo, second place finisher James Harden and third place finisher Paul George. See the full results at NBA.com.

Nuggets executive Tim Connelly also placed second in the voting for the NBA's Executive of the Year.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

First published on June 25, 2019 / 9:44 AM MDT

© 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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