Salt Lake City – What a difference a week makes.
The Nuggets were hot a week ago, winning seven straight. But after Wednesday night’s 103-90 loss to their Northwest Division rival Utah Jazz at the Delta Center, the Nuggets have dropped four straight games, tying their season high.
“Things happen over the course of a season,” said Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, who was limited to 20 points, 5.5 below his scoring average. “It’s a long season. You’re going to have times where you win seven, eight, nine, 10 straight.
“You’re going to have times where you lose four straight. We just got to make the good times more than the bad times.”
Frustration reached its peak in the fourth quarter for Denver’s Kenyon Martin, who had 18 points and six rebounds. When he came out of the game with Denver trailing 97-82 with 3:05 left, he departed early for the locker room. At strength and conditioning coach Steve Hess’ urging, Martin returned before the game ended. He declined comment afterward.
“I know he was upset,” Denver general manager Kiki Vandeweghe said. “Sometimes you go to the locker room so you won’t say anything to the refs just for a second. He went for a second and came right back. I’m not worried about that.
“If he had gone in there and stayed in there, that would have been a different story. But he came back. I understand.”
Denver defeated visiting Utah 113-83 in their last meeting Jan. 20. And the Jazz remembered.
“We were motivated,” said Utah’s Andrei Kirilenko, who scored 21 points Wednesday.
The Nuggets (25-23) were without center Marcus Camby, who suffered a strained left shoulder Tuesday at Sacramento. He is expected to return Saturday against Portland.
“I don’t think it was nothing serious,” Camby said. “I expect to be out there soon, hopefully be playing by Saturday.”
Francisco Elson (10 points, four rebounds) took Camby’s place in the starting lineup.
So what’s wrong with the Nuggets?
Anthony mentioned the transition game; Denver was limited to seven fast-break points against Utah. Nuggets coach George Karl mentioned injuries, hopes of regaining chemistry and toughness. And Nuggets guard Earl Boykins mentioned pace.
“Guys just have to stay positive,” said Boykins, who had three points on 1-of-5 shooting. “Whenever you go through a losing streak, there’s always a lot of negative things being said. You just have to remain positive and stay focused. We’ll be OK.”
Staff writer Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com.
