LOS ANGELES — After the game, even the rim needed an ice pack.
In their 100-94 loss to the Clippers on Saturday night, the Nuggets had a season-high 102 shots but also flirted with a season-low field-goal percentage. The Nuggets shot 39.2 percent at the Staples Center and, really, it was amazing they were even in the game.
“It was a game that we had nobody making shots, but we kept working and trying,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “You can’t complain about how hard we worked. We fought back into that game four, five times with guts.”
With the loss, the Nuggets came back to earth just a little bit, losing to a bad opponent after having a day to rest.
But Denver (37-27) is 5-2 since trading Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups to the Knicks. And, hey, at least the Nuggets haven’t lost twice to the Cavaliers.
The Nuggets showed up in L.A. with a whole new cast of characters. But the result was, alas, the same. On Jan. 5 in L.A. against the Clippers, Denver had one of its more deflating losses of the season, back when Melo fatigue was prevalent.
And on Saturday, the Clippers (23-40) held on to win a game that normally the Clippers would blow.
But the Nuggets helped them by not making shots.
There was Wilson Chandler, hoisting ill-advised shots early in the shot clock, a double whammy. He finished 3-of-14 from the field.
J.R. Smith made only two shots, missing nine. Ty Lawson, who fittingly missed a layup at the buzzer, was 4-of-15.
And how about Al Harrington? The Denver forward is at his best when he’s a weapon from the outside. Lately, he has been anything but. Only once since Feb. 10 has Big Al made more than three field goals in a game. And Saturday he was scoreless, going 0-of-8.
It was like a mason’s convention.
Really, the only bright spot was Nene.
Early in the game, the Nuggets fed Nene often, and the energized big man attacked the rim each time without thinking twice, tallying 10 points in the first quarter.
As he’s prone to do, Nene disappeared for a stretch, but then came back strong.
How hot was the Brazilian big man?
He was even hitting mid-range jumpers with ease — three in the fourth quarter. He scored a game-high 25 points and hit 11-of-14 shots.
Nene also controlled the boards with Marcus Camby-like authority, finishing with a game-high 14 rebounds.
“He was our only solid performer,” Karl said. “I probably should have played him some more minutes. We just didn’t have enough guys playing at a high level.”
Nuggets guard Arron Afflalo suffered a left hamstring strain in the second quarter and did not return to action.
But the Clippers’ starting shooting guard, Eric Gordon, left the game in the second quarter because of a wrist injury. The Clippers were ahead 43-29 when Gordon went down.
Overall, the game was played at a frenetic pace and the Nuggets could never seem to control it.
“We didn’t make shots,” Chandler said. “And then down the stretch, we didn’t make defensive stops.”
While the Nuggets have benefited sometimes from the ease and carefree spirit on the floor, it backfired Saturday night.
Nuggets Recap
What you might have missed
Nuggets fans got their first taste of Timofey Mozgov in meaningful minutes. With some of the bigs in foul trouble in the second quarter, coach George Karl called on the big Russian, who played five minutes, scoring two points. . . . Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith received technical fouls for arguing with an official.
Final thought
Gotta make your shots — at least some of them.
Up next
Thursday at Phoenix, 8:30 p.m.
