Carmelo Anthony sat motionless. Completely motionless. For minutes on end, with a towel over his head and another over his shoulders.
Finally, with a quiver in his voice, he talked, long after most of his teammates had left.
“This is a year that we as a team have put a lot of work into,” he said Saturday night, long after losing 100-86 to the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 4 of the first-round playoff series.
“This is a year we was going to be able to move on out of the first round and solidify the season that we had. To validate it.”
The locker room scene was far different after the game than it was before, when the players found a simple message of encouragement facing them in their locker room: “TODAY IS THE DAY THE PENDULUM SWINGS OUR WAY.”
The only place the pendulum swung at the Pepsi Center was squarely between the Nuggets’ eyes. Right now the word “momentum” may as well be in a foreign language for Denver.
Trailing this first-round series 3-1, the Nuggets will have to win Game 5 Monday in L.A. to return to their home arena for anything more than clearing out their lockers. And even if the Nuggets win, they will have to win two more against a team that has defeated them in six out of eight meetings this season, and often made it look easy.
“We’re searching almost every game for confidence,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “The balance of confidence is a fragile line in the NBA. We never found that line.”
Denver’s series-long shooting slump continued Saturday. Amazingly, their below-average 42.4 percent shooting marked their best of the series.
Among the worst shooting offenders were Anthony (5-for-17), Greg Buckner (5-for-13) and Earl Boykins (4-for-11). Once again, 3-point shooting was an issue for Denver, which followed up an 0-for-11 performance in Game 3 with a 5-for-22 showing in Game 4. Anthony had a team-high 17 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 4:03 left in the game.
“We just looked like a tired, frustrated team tonight,” said Marcus Camby, who finished with 14 points and six rebounds. “We didn’t come with the right mind-set for a Game 4, the biggest game of our season. Guys who have been here before (didn’t contribute).”
The Denver defense that kept two of the first three games close didn’t come within a mile of the building. The Clippers shot often without much trouble on the way to a 48.7 percent night. The boos grew louder as the guests’ lead grew to 23 points in the fourth quarter.
“Melo has been passing the ball to the weakside. We’re not able to convert on the weakside,” said forward Eduardo Najera, who started again but finished with one point and two rebounds. “I don’t think anybody is playing well. They are covering Melo really well. Nobody is hitting outside jumpers.”
The Clippers stand on the verge of advancing in the playoffs for the first time since 1976, before they moved from Buffalo to San Diego to their current home.
“It’s a significant moment for our group because it’s our first time in the playoffs and our first chance to do something,” Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy.
Corey Maggette and Shaun Livingston scored 19 and 16 points, respectively, off the bench.
“People don’t realize the hardest game of the series is closing a team off,” Clippers guard Sam Cassell said. “It’s going to take a better effort than tonight to close this team out, because they know if they lose, they’re on vacation.”
The temperature of a series tends to rise as it proceeds, and a second-quarter incident indicated this matchup may be getting angrier, too.
After tangling with Reggie Evans on a free throw, Clippers center Chris Kaman pushed the Nuggets forward in the back, sending him to the floor. Evans was seen on replays grabbing Kaman below the belt. Officials assessed Kaman with a type-one flagrant foul.
Also during the game, Denver’s Francisco Elson, Ruben Patterson, assistant coach Doug Moe, Buckner and Anthony drew technicals. Maggette received one for the Clippers, too.
“Maybe it’s not our series,” Nuggets guard Andre Miller said. “But they are playing good basketball. You got to give it to them.”
Staff writer Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or athompson@denverpost.com.
