LOS ANGELES — Observations from the Nuggets’ 102-98 loss to the L.A. Clippers on Monday night at the Staples Center.
Killer instinct. Usually this space is saved for more in-depth analysis, but there was some talk about this after the game – the lack of it – and it should be highlighted. The Nuggets have lost their last three games by four or fewer points during this seven-game losing streak. And as tenuous as it is, the Nuggets have held at least a one-point lead in the last six minutes of four of them – Minnesota, Boston, Washington and the Clippers.
But from the 5:55 mark to the end of the game against the Timberwolves they were outscored 19-10. Boston maintained its one-point advantage with six minutes to go, winning by that margin though the Nuggets led by one with 1:34 to go. The Nuggets led the Wizards by two with 57 seconds to go, but ended up tied and lost the game in overtime. And on Monday night against the Clippers, they led by six with six minutes to go, and were outscored 22-12 to end the game.
The inability to get the big stop when they have needed it has been a reoccurring issue. And, of course, making a critical shot when they need to has been missing, too (the Nuggets have shot an average of 8-of-20 (40 percent) in the fourth quarters during the losing streak). But this is more about defense. Washington got an easy screen-roll layup by Nene when the Nuggets had that lead. The Clippers gashed the Nuggets in a myriad of ways in their final push. Boston found space for jump shots, and Avery Bradley knocked them down. Closing out games requires tightening down on defense in the final minutes, and that has not been happening during the current stretch of struggles.
Losing Crawford. Even the best players are in need of a pick-me-up. For three quarters of Monday’s night’s game, Clippers guard Jamal Crawford was that guy. He’s used to scoring in bunches, but the Nuggets had removed him from the game for the first three quarters. Still, his coach, Doc Rivers, and his teammates implored him to press on. And he did.
And, eventually, the Nuggets couldn’t keep the former Sixth Man of the Year off the board in the fourth. There were two overarching reasons why. First, he found space. The Nuggets had been good at staying attached to him for the most part. That changed in the fourth. They were late out to him at the 3-point line, and once he found the range once, he was pretty much immediately on fire. Which is par for the course for Crawford, who can get from zero to 60 with the speed of 10 Ferraris.
His activity level raised as well, simply making him simply harder to corral. Even at 34, Crawford’s speed and quickness don’t take a back seat to anyone and he attacked a lot more in the fourth. And that led to this: the Nuggets putting him on the free throw line. Eight of his 21 points in the fourth came from the charity stripe. Until the fourth, the Nuggets had guarded him with smarts and kept their hands off. He had no free throw attempts in the first three quarters. Put it all together, and it equaled a game-saving 12 minutes for Crawford, whose Clippers had been outplayed by the Nuggets most of the night.
Offensive execution. Wasted in the fourth quarter collapse was one of the best overall offensive performances the Nuggets have put on the court this season. Spacing was good. The Nuggets got the ball up court and into their sets quickly. There were minimal moments of confusion or waiting to direct a player to the spot they were supposed to be in to start a play. Passing decisions were almost always the right one, and passes to shooters were delivered on time and on-target, allowing those players to shoot in rhythm. Plays were run with adjustments made on the fly when the Clippers had the first option or first two options defended well. The Nuggets played smart, stayed away from mistakes (just 10 turnovers) and made shots — until, of course, going 1-for-6 to end the game.
Follow Chris Dempsey on Twitter @dempseypost or email him at cdempsey@denverpost.com
