NEW ORLEANS — When it mattered most Wednesday night, the Nuggets were as cold as a nervous groom’s feet.
They heaved jumper after jumper, clanker after clanker, while the number 70 remained frozen on the scoreboard.
“If we’re going to try to outshoot New Orleans, I think we’re crazy,” Nuggets coach George Karl said after a 94-81 loss. “They win games because of their shooting. We don’t win games because of our shooting.”
Up 70-68, the Nuggets allowed New Orleans to go on a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter, while the Hornets happily allowed the Nuggets to shoot outside shots. Karl was angry after the game because his team thrives when it dribble-penetrates, or makes the extra pass. Instead, the Nuggets thought they were the Hornets.
“The thing that drives me crazy about my team is we don’t understand what we do well at the offensive end of the court,” Karl said.
The loss could hurt the Nuggets in more than the win column. New Orleans (28-14) now has a 2-1 advantage against them this season, heading into the final meeting in March. If Denver (30-16) doesn’t win that game, the Hornets would hold the tiebreaker if it came into play in the postseason.
Instead, the Nuggets head back home after the split of back-to-back games and will cross their fingers that a doctor clears Carmelo Anthony to play Friday, a home game against the Charlotte Bobcats.
A handful of frightening trends have occurred in the past couple games. For one, to quote Kenyon Martin: “We were throwing the ball all over the place.” After a season-high 27 turnovers in a road victory against the Memphis Grizzles on Tuesday, Denver had 19 on Wednesday, including five in the fourth quarter.
“(Turnovers are) the one habit that’s kind of scaring me a little bit,” Karl said.
Another frightening trend is Chauncey Billups not playing like Chauncey Billups. The point guard hasn’t been tallying assists lately as he normally does. Billups averages 6.7 assists, but in the last three games he had just two at New Orleans, three at Memphis and one against Utah.
And Mr. Big Shot missed big shots in the fourth quarter at New Orleans, finishing 4-for-14 for 12 points.
“You can’t play well every night, whoever it is. That’s why it’s a team sport and you have to rely on your guys to pull you out of the hole,” Billups said.
Which brings us to the third frightening aspect of Wednesday’s loss — the bench production, or lack thereof. Denver’s reserves scored 13 points on 6-for-18 shooting. Meanwhile, the Hornets’ bench scored a season-high 42 points.
Denver played pretty good defense on Hornets star point guard, Chris Paul, who finished with just 12 points. But Paul still penetrated and found shooters to pop, notably Peja Stojakovic, who was lights-out. He scored 26 points, showcasing his stroke as though he were still with Sacramento. And Devin Brown, a former Nuggets reserve, scored 18 points, 10 in the fourth.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
Nuggets Recap
What you might have missed
Wednesday’s tipoff was delayed about 12 minutes after an elderly man in the stands fell and hit his head. . . . Kenyon Martin, Anthony Carter and coach George Karl each picked up technical fouls. . . . The Hornets wore uniforms to honor the old ABA New Orleans Buccaneers, a team that featured former Nuggets coaches Doug Moe and Larry Brown as players. Karl said he remembers attending a Buccaneers game when they played the team from Pittsburgh, where Karl grew up.
Final thought
It’s tough to win on the road, but this was a winnable game that the Nuggets shot their way out of.
Up next
Friday vs. Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
