SEATTLE — George Karl is not among those who think the past two losses — to Sacramento and Seattle — ended the Nuggets’ playoff hopes or damaged them beyond repair.
“We worked very hard to get a little bit of an advantage, and now we’ve given it back with these two losses,” the Nuggets coach said after Sunday night’s loss.
“But I don’t think anything’s over yet. It’s just a situation where we’ve got to regroup, get our energy back and our confidence back, and go out on the road and hopefully start with the Clippers game with a more 48-minute type of effort and then have two great battles on the road. It’ll be a great challenge for us.”
Denver, which plays at the Los Angeles Clippers tonight, blew an opportunity to move ahead of Golden State by having a horrid defensive showing in Sunday’s loss to Seattle. Denver is tied with Golden State for the No. 8 and last playoff spot in the West, with the Nuggets holding the tiebreaker. The teams meet Thursday in Oakland, Calif.
But first things first. The Nuggets have made it tough on themselves after the loss at home Saturday to Sacramento and the stunning loss Sunday at Seattle. Five games remain. Karl tried to lend reason to the Nuggets’ lost weekend.
“I’m not sure if we win both of these games if we still probably wouldn’t have to beat Golden State anyway,” he said. “We’re going to have to beat somebody on the road, and now it’s pretty imperative.”
Last year, when the Nuggets needed to have wins at season’s end, they pried a 96-93 win out of the Staples Center against the Clippers, one of 10 wins in 11 games to end the season. This season, Denver is 2-1 against the Clippers, but that loss came in Los Angeles in November.
Nuggets guard Allen Iverson acknowledged the Nuggets are under “big-time pressure, that’s an understatement. We’ve got to worry about the next one, that’s it. Can’t worry about no other games.”
Defensively, the Nuggets have allowed an average of 130.3 points in their last four games, three of which were losses. Since a Feb. 29 win against the Clippers, 17 of the Nuggets’ past 19 opponents have scored more than 100 points.
Karl suggested the team might be wearing down under the weight of the playoff race, but Iverson doesn’t think that’s necessarily the case.
“You got to go through the whole team and talk to guys individually,” Iverson said. “I don’t know how a person can speak for somebody else.”
Still, everyone knows the importance of this week.
“We just have to come out and keep playing,” guard J.R. Smith said. “We’ve got five games left, and we’ve got to play. If we don’t play (well), we’re going to be sitting at home, watching the playoffs.”
DENVER AT L.A. CLIPPERS
8:30 p.m. tonight, ALT, KKFN 104.3 FM
Spotlight on Elton Brand: Brand is back and playing more and more like his old self. The Clippers’ perennial all-star forward missed nearly the entire season recovering from a surgically repaired Achilles tendon, which he ruptured in an offseason workout. He returned to the Clippers’ lineup April 2 and has averaged 17.7 points and 7.3 rebounds in 29.7 minutes.
Notebook
Nuggets: Forward Nene (strained right groin) is listed as day to day. He did not play Sunday against Seattle. . . . J.R. Smith has cooled off a bit since a torrid stretch in February and March. He has averaged 12.0 points in his past two games and has committed six turnovers in those two. . . . Chucky Atkins has gotten off the bench once in the past three games, for five minutes.
Clippers: Los Angeles is 1-2 since Brand’s return. . . . Rookie Al Thornton has played well at times, but has tailed off each month since February. He averaged 17.4 points per game in February, 15.7 in March and 12.3 in April.
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
