In the end, the game became the contrast of a team steamrolling toward the postseason and one just hoping to get out of its own way.
Making the plays that matter is not something the Nuggets do with any kind of regularity these days, and their 117-115 overtime loss to Washington on Sunday night at the Pepsi Center was the latest example. A last-second Ty Lawson jump shot missed at the buzzer in overtime.
The game could have been won in regulation. Kenneth Faried stood at the free-throw line with the game tied, with 1.4 seconds remaining.
Free throw No. 1 … miss.
Free throw No. 2 … miss.
He blocked a Paul Pierce shot to send the game to overtime, but the damage had been done.
The Wizards quickly assumed control of the extra session and held off the Nuggets for the win. The Nuggets never folded, but Washington had an answer for everything it faced. Lawson kept his team in contact, but the Nuggets could never get over the hill.
Lawson had one of his best games of the season after a rough, self- inflicted 48 hours that started with his arrest in the early hours of Friday morning.
That frustration was channeled into focus Sunday night.
He made the big shots that needed to be made almost all night long, scoring 31 points with 12 assists. But the Nuggets were a bit too jump shot-heavy, and the inability to make a high percentage of those was costly.
Because, meanwhile, the Wizards were getting layups. Nene finished shots at the rim. John Wall slashed to the bucket. They were getting the prime looks needed to close things out in the fourth quarter and overtime.
“We allowed them to get layup after layup after layup down the stretch,” said Denver coach Brian Shaw. “That’s where our defense has to get tighter. We struggled for every shot we got, and it seemed like theirs were just layups.
“Free throws are important in close games, but that’s not what lost us the game. Kenneth is going to deal with that in his own way. He’s probably going to be tougher on himself than anybody else will. But I told him that didn’t lose the game for us. I thought he played extremely hard. I thought he played with good energy.”
The Nuggets, who have now lost a season high-tying six straight games, are headed on a three-game road trip, which starts Monday in Los Angeles against the Clippers.
Wilson Chandler finished with 20 points and nine rebounds for the Nuggets, who had five players in double figures.
Kris Humphries led the Wizards with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Wall was stellar too, finishing with 19 points and 16 assists.
The Wizards scored 56 points in the paint. Denver scored 36.
“It’s a tough loss,” Lawson said. “There were a couple of things down the stretch that we didn’t do — of course, the missed free throws and (Washington’s) easy layups. They had 56 points in the paint, and it’s tough to win when they do that.”
Footnotes. The Nuggets recalled rookie Erick Green from the D-League’s Fort Wayne franchise. … Danilo Gallinari’s made 3-pointer Sunday was his first since Dec. 20.
Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or
DENVER at L.A. CLIPPERS 8:30 p.m. Monday, ALT; 950 AM
Spotlight on Blake Griffin: In his fifth season in the NBA, Griffin has settled into a nice groove. He recently was voted an All-Star Game starter. The former Oklahoma star was averaging 23 points and 7.6 rebounds and shooting 50 percent from the field going into the Clippers’ game Sunday at Phoenix, which they won by 20. And his offensive game continues to grow. The Clippers are trying to play a high level of basketball more consistently, and that begins with Griffin.
