DETROIT — Arron Afflalo’s smirk was that of a player who knew the answer he wanted to give, but needed to temper it to the PG version.
The question: Was there anything the Nuggets could use from their on Wednesday night that might serve them well on Friday in Detroit?
“Um,” Afflalo said. “Yeah, just try to roll it into Detroit.”
And by “it,” Afflalo meant the couple halves of solid play that got them close to a victory against the Celtics. But, in the final 30 seconds, the Nuggets botched two inbounds plays.
Denver has lost 11 of its past 12 games. Things have broken down so much that it now must search to find a positive amid the wreckage.
In the second half against the Celtics, Afflalo simplified the reason as to why the Nuggets played better than they have in recent games.
“Ty (Lawson) got it going,” he said. “That’s really the only thing that changed pretty much. He got it going and started pushing the tempo and scoring the ball.”
Afflalo credited the defense as well. The Nuggets are going to have to have a repeat defensively for four quarters if they are to earn a victory on this road trip.
In the two losses on this trip, the Nuggets have played poorly in the second quarter and spent the rest of the game trying to catch up. Combined, the Nuggets have been outscored 62-34 in the second quarter of their past two games.
“We have too many ups and downs, especially on defense,” Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari said. “We have some stretches where we play good defense, and some stretches where we don’t. We’ve got to be more constant during the game, especially on defense.”
Nuggets coach Brian Shaw also pointed toward the defensive end as the reason for the breakdown in the second quarter against Boston.
“If we defended the way we did in the third and fourth, for four quarters, then we may win the game going away,” Shaw said. “But that’s been kind of our story, and we have to just continue to try to put together a complete 48 instead of just the last 24 or the first 24, however it turns out.”
Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or twitter.com/dempseypost
DENVER AT DETROIT
5:30 p.m. Friday, ALT; 950 AM
Spotlight on Greg Monroe: With averages of 15.3 points and 10.3 rebounds, the 6-foot-11 Monroe is having one of his best seasons in the NBA. He is shooting nearly 50 percent from the field. And he’s doing it at the right time, because he will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. With his size and skill, plus youth, he will be one of the more coveted players on the market. The Georgetown product turns 25 on June 4.
NOTEBOOK
• Nuggets: The team took Thursday off after losing back-to-back games to Philadelphia and Boston. Friday’s game at Detroit will wrap up this road trip. Denver will have just three more road games the remainder of the season against Eastern Conference teams — Milwaukee, Miami and Orlando. … Jameer Nelson is questionable for Friday’s game because of a strained Achilles tendon. … Danilo Gallinari will work the Basketball Without Borders camp during the all-star break in New York.
• Pistons: Brandon Jennings will miss the remainder of the season because of a ruptured Achilles tendon. He averaged 15.4 points and 6.6 assists in 41 games, all starts. … Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond are the only frontcourt duo in the NBA averaging a double-double apiece. … Detroit has won its past two home games, beating Houston by 13 and Miami by 17.
— Christopher Dempsey, The Denver Post
