If George Karl could splice the offense of recent Nuggets games with the defense Denver displayed Saturday against San Antonio, he might be on to something. Instead, Denver’s defense and offense keep refusing to show up in the same arena at the same time and the Nuggets continue to lose, this time a 98-88 decision at the Pepsi Center.
In falling to 14-17 – their furthest below .500 this season – Denver accomplished its main defensive goal of keeping guard Tony Parker quiet. He had six points, the Spurs shot 43.6 percent as a team and the Nuggets had a 10-rebound advantage on their guests to boot.
But San Antonio (24-7) also gave Denver another dose of the strict defense it used to send the Nuggets out of the playoffs in five games last spring, holding the Nuggets to a season-low 34.2 percent.
“That’s what happens when you’re struggling,” Karl said. “We did a great job on Parker. Kenyon (Martin), the bigs did a great job battling and competing in the paint. Best rebounding game we’ve had in a long time.
“Someone told me we missed over 20 layups. We made free throws when it didn’t count. We didn’t make free throws when it did count. When we had it in reach in the fourth quarter, we had some unforced turnovers.”
The Spurs built off a 28-16 scoring edge in the third quarter to weather a rally that got Denver within four points with 5:25 left.
“San Antonio’s a brilliant team,” Karl said. “They’re a team that, when they sense your weakness, they have a way of getting stronger.”
As for his own team, he said, “Mentally, we’re fragile. I thought that showed.”
Denver wasted the first double-double of the season for Martin, who also reached 10 rebounds for the first time this season with hours to spare before 2005 became history.
“Hopefully that can continue. I’m not going to get too excited about it,” Martin said.
Karl added: “It looks like he’s coming back. We need him to be more involved, more assertive. That’s my job and his job both. He’s got to work on getting a little better conditioning, a little better finishing offensively, and I’ve got to get him better touches and better options.”
Martin finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds on shaky 4-for-13 shooting, while Carmelo Anthony again led his team with 25 points, but shot 8-for-22. Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 25 and 20 points, respectively. Duncan and Bruce Bowen also led their team’s standard, superlative effort on the other end.
“I never really got a wide-open look, maybe one time,” Denver forward Eduardo Najera said.
On top of losing six straight to the world champions dating to the playoffs, the Nuggets have lost seven of nine overall and three straight home games for the first time since 2003-04. They have kept many of those losses close, but Bowen theorized that the absence of injured center Marcus Camby is getting to them.
“They may be dwelling on it,” Bowen said. “Who knows? But they’ve got to get rid of it real quick and play together.”
Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or athompson@denverpost.com.
