ATLANTA — Nuggets coach Brian Shaw had to peck away at it, desperately searching for a lineup that clicked.
Ty Lawson, Arron Afflalo, Wilson Chandler, J.J. Hickson, Timofey Mozgov? Decent.
Lawson, Afflalo, Danilo Gallinari, Hickson, Darrell Arthur? Not as good.
Gary Harris, Erick Green, Gallinari, Arthur, Mozgov: Non-starter.
Shaw did hit on a couple of lineups that worked, but by then it was too late. Ultimately, the Nuggets suffered from a lack of firepower in a 96-84 loss to Atlanta here Sunday afternoon.
Against the up-tempo, 3-point shooting Hawks, that’s a problem.
How tough was it for Shaw to hit on a lineup that worked?
“It took all the way until when I subbed Alonzo (Gee) in, in that third quarter,” Shaw said. “But I tried everything.”
It was the Nuggets’ third consecutive loss, and second straight poor showing on this road trip that finishes Monday at Toronto.
The power outage started after the Nuggets built an 11-7 lead. They made just 9-of-34 shots the remainder of the first half and were down 21 at the break.
Afflalo noted the Nuggets “rough first half,” adding he thought the Nuggets “did a better job in the second half defensively.”
The Nuggets made a run to get back into the game in the third quarter, making as many field goals in that quarter (13) as they had in the entire first half. They also forced seven turnovers, six via steals. In the fourth quarter Denver got within seven points, but could get no closer, running out of energy.
Shaw credited the entire Nuggets second-half defensive resurgence to Gee “single-handedly” providing a spark.
For every good play the Nuggets made, though, Atlanta regrouped to keep them at arm’s length.
“It was a lot to come back from,” said guard Ty Lawson, who finished with four points on 1-of-10 shooting.
Gee, Chandler and Mozgov combined to shoot 24-of-37 from the field (64.8 percent). Everyone else: 10-of-56 (17.8 percent). Chandler finished with a season-high 29 points and 10 rebounds.
He needed a lot more help than he got.
“We had looks, but we just didn’t knock down those shots,” Shaw said. “There’s going to be nights when that happens, but you have to bring that defense.”
Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or
DENVER AT TORONTO
5:30 p.m. Monday, ALT; 950 AM
Spotlight on Terrence Ross: The Raptors are without injured guard DeMar DeRozan for the foreseeable future because of injury, and that means other players have to step up and fill his missed production. Forward Ross is a main cog in that process, but he has provided mixed results so far. Still, he’s fully capable of knocking down 3-point shots and sparking his team with athletic plays. He will be a player the Nuggets have to keep in check.
