Part flamboyant, part clairvoyant, Denver’s J.R. Smith slammed a few dunks during the pregame layup line, while seeing the future unfold in front of his wary eyes.
“We pretty much showed it then,” the Nuggets guard said. “We were missing layups, just going through the motions. And then it transferred over to the game.”
Lathered in lethargy, the Nuggets lost 105-95 to the Warriors on Sunday, an embarrassing sputter on Denver’s home court in front of a bewildered sellout crowd.
The Nuggets shot a season-low 34.5 percent and missed their season high for turnovers by two, finishing with 24, still pretty awful.
“It might be as bad a basketball game I’ve seen my team play all year,” said Nuggets coach George Karl, whose team is 18-12, tied for first with Portland in the Northwest Division.
When you play 82 games, even good teams are going to lose a few. But the way Denver lost Sunday’s game was frightening — frightening that for however good the Nuggets can play, they can also sink this low.
Two nights prior, at Golden State, the Nuggets shot 50.6 percent in a road win against the same Warriors.
Denver’s passing Sunday, Karl was the first to admit, was atrocious.
“I told our team after the game — you have to make the pass that you see, not the pass that you predict,” the coach said.
And the loosey-goosey Warriors turned into five Bruce Bowens. Their defense was smothering. They put guard Baron Davis on Allen Iverson, who had torched the Warriors for 39 points Friday. Then, when the silky Iverson would get in the lane, the Warriors systematically surrounded the Nuggets guard. Iverson didn’t make a first-half field goal and finished 2-for-12 with a season-low 13 points. Throw in the fact the Nuggets couldn’t hit a 3-pointer — 4-for-18 — and their fast-paced offense was officially stuck in neutral.
“They’re a scrappy team,” Denver forward Carmelo Anthony said. “They run around and scramble.”
After three quarters, the Warriors (18-13) led 75-73, but by the 9:23 mark in the fourth, they were up by 10. The Nuggets chipped away, but were back to 10 down with 2:38 left, and the Pepsi Center fans flooded toward the exits.
Anthony was the only Denver player to score more than 15 points, totaling 26 with 10 rebounds. He has seven double-doubles on the season, and five in six games.
Davis, making an all-star bid, scored a game-high 28 points on 10-for-11 shooting, along with eight assists.
Overall, the Denver defense wasn’t that bad; Karl called it “decent.” Golden State shot 43.5 percent and was outrebounded 56-42, with Denver’s Marcus Camby grabbing a game-high 15.
Denver forward Kenyon Martin spent his 30th birthday on the bench, inactive with a strained right hamstring. He has missed four of the past five games, thinning the Nuggets’ front line. Forward Nene, back from his thumb injury, missed all five shot attempts in 16 minutes while battling foul trouble.
The Nuggets played nine players Sunday, and only three made five or more field goals.
Nuggets Recap
What you might have missed
Denver guard Allen Iverson closed out his dazzling December with a whimper. He entered the night averaging 31.1 points per game during the month, but he scored just 13, tying a season low. He had five assists and five turnovers. The Warriors made shots in clutch situations, notably in the fourth quarter, when they scored 30 points.
Final thought
The Nuggets are slumping on Sundays, 1-3 in home games. This was the worst, a lackluster effort on both ends of the court.
Up next
San Antonio, 7 p.m., Thursday, Pepsi Center.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
