The objects in the rear-view mirror are every bit as close as they appear for the Nuggets.
Like a driver leading the field in a NASCAR race, Denver can hear the throttle of the engines roaring close behind as it tries to chug to the finish line in the Western Conference playoff race.
“The luxury we have is that we control our own destiny,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “We don’t need other teams to lose for us. If we do our job, we’ll be a playoff team.”
Saturday night the Nuggets did not do their job, losing to Charlotte.
The Nuggets began a four-game homestand, part of a stretch of nine of 12 games at the , looking for separation. There was none to be found in the 112-102 loss that kept the race for the eighth and final playoff spot bunched as tight as an accordion.
The Nuggets’ lead for that spot dropped to two games after the loss, with ninth-place Portland playing later Saturday night. Three other teams entered the weekend within three games of Denver.
Trailing 100-89 midway through the fourth quarter, the Nuggets went on a 7-0 run. But after ‘s layup cut the lead to 100-96 with 4:33 left, the Hornets answered with a 7-0 run of their own to end the threat.
The Hornets had 13 offensive rebounds and 20 second-chance points.
“They definitely killed us on the boards,” Nuggets guard Gary Harris said. “We’ve got to be better. We’ve been a good rebounding team all year. We weren’t tonight.”
The Nuggets believed they had found a new defensive gear during a 2-0 road trip last week. But defense has often been one step forward and two steps back for Denver, which was burned by, among others, a player who wore its jersey just a couple weeks ago.
Johnny O’Bryant, who was playing with the Nuggets on two 10-day contracts last month, scored a career-high 15 points and hit one big shot after another in the second half, each seeming to lasso a Denver run.
O’Bryant wasn’t alone. Six Hornets scored in double figures, led by Kemba Walker’s 25 points. His success in the pick-and-roll, a concern for the Nuggets entering the game, led to a host of open shots for teammates. Charlotte shot 59.3 percent (16-of-27) from 3-point range.
The hot shooting of Charlotte spoiled another monster performance from Nuggets center , who had 31 points on 13-of-15 shooting and 14 rebounds. That came on the heels of back-to-back triple-doubles last week in wins over Chicago and Milwaukee.
Jokic, who found much of his offense in the paint, recognized the need to assert himself with the Nuggets struggling on offense for much of the game. During a victory over Milwaukee on Wednesday, the Nuggets filmed a clinic in ball movement while running to a 32-15 first-quarter lead. Denver later in that game had nine passes on a play that ended in a dunk, a sequence Malone called a “work of art.”
The Nuggets were no Rembrandt on Saturday.
BOXSCORE:
The crisp ball movement. The cutting. The extra passes. Those hallmarks of the Nuggets’ prolific offense in recent games was rarely seen against the Hornets. The ball stuck like it had been dipped in honey.
“We didn’t cut enough,” Malone said. “At times we became stagnant. It’s easy to stand. It’s hard to cut and cut and cut and, when you don’t get it, keep cutting. That’s something we have to learn and grow from to have more consistency on the offensive end.”
The defensive execution wasn’t much better. Entry into the paint for the Hornets came with little resistance.
Sure, the Hornets made some tough, contested shots. But there were also plenty of clean looks as the result of penetration that the Nuggets struggled to corral.
“It was a tough one today,” Harris said. “We needed this one. We have to bounce back.”
