The Denver Nuggets suffered their third ugly defeat in two weeks, falling to Atlanta 110-97 Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center.
Here are seven takeaways from the defeat:
1. Quotable. This was one of those games in which it was tough to pick the best quotes to run in the game story, because there were so many to choose from. So here are a few more pointed comments from another “bad” loss:
Michael Malone: “At the end of the day, I put this loss on me. Obviously I’m not doing my job to get this team ready to play … We come out thinking we can just show up. In this league, when you think you can just show up and win a game, you get your (butt) kicked. Thatap exactly what happened tonight.”
Gary Harris: “Maybe thatap just a wake-up call to stop thinking we can just turn it on whenever. We’ve got to come out and play from the jump. There was no way we should have lost that game, but (the Hawks) had energy from the jump. They saw some shots go in, and now we’re playing uphill the whole game. We just couldn’t get over the hump.”
Will Barton: “Now itap a tough spot. We’re on a losing streak, and now itap time to get out of it. You learn about yourself (during adversity). Me, I’m a guy that likes these types of times. They reveal a lot about your character, so I’m willing to embrace the challenge. I’m ready. I can’t wait to play against Memphis.”
2. Ice cold. Though Malone thought the Nuggets got some decent looks from the field, he was disappointed players did not “read the game and adjust” when the long jumpers weren’t falling. Twelve of Denver’s first 17 field-goal attempts were 3-pointers, with just three makes, before it finished 9-of-37 from beyond the arc. Overall, the Nuggets fell to 1-5 this season when shooting 40 percent or below from the floor and 4-of-17 when their opponent finishes with a better field-goal percentage.
“We gotta dig deeper (when we aren’t shooting well),” Barton said. “Now letap make fun out of getting stops and get energy that way, (by) locking people down.”
3. Rotation, rotation. By the end of the first quarter, Malone had already put 10 players in the game by finishing the period with Barton, Malik Beasley, Torrey Craig, Kenneth Faried and Trey Lyles. Faried’s re-emergence was particularly interesting, as it marked his first action in four games and second appearance in Denver’s last 12 contests. He was active early, taking a charge before missing a follow dunk on the other end. He was the only Nugget to finish with a positive plus-minus with four points, two rebounds and one assist in seven minutes. But he (and Beasley) did not play in the second half.
4. The Joker. Itap pretty unreal that an awful game for Nikola Jokic still comes with 12 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and three blocks. Also unreal? A Jokic slump includes a triple-double against the defending champion Warriors. But here we are, as Jokic has made 19 of his last 60 field-goal attempts, a 31.7 percentage.
“I think that most of my shots were really good,” Jokic said. “The ball just didn’t want to go in.”
Unprompted, Malone also mentioned that he was surprised Jokic shot only two free throws in 31 minutes.
“I’ll have to go back and watch the film,” Malone said. “But I think there are ample opportunities for fouls to be called that he’s not getting right now.”
5. Not-so-free throws. Speaking of foul shots, that was a crucial stat Wednesday. Denver went 12-of-20 from the line against the Hawks, following a road trip with some key misses down the stretch. Every Nugget who took at least one free throw missed at least one free throw except Jamal Murray, who went 1-for-1. Denver now ranks 26th in the NBA in free throw percentage (74). Atlanta, on the other hand, went 18-of-18 Wednesday, the 17th time in Nuggets history that an opponent was perfect from the free-throw line.
6. Tiebreakers relevant. Malone has talked recently about the importance of taking or tying various season series, including Denver’s 2-1 “win” in its completed three-game set against New Orleans. Thatap important now, given that the Nuggets are currently a half-game up on the eighth-seeded Pelicans. If Denver and New Orleans finish with the same record, the Nuggets will win the tiebreaker because of their head-to-head win in the season series. Denver is also a half-game behind sixth-seeded Oklahoma City (1-1 so far this season) and one game back of fifth-seeded Portland (1-1).
7. Celebrity sightings. Former Nugget Chris “Birdman” Andersen and Broncos star Von Miller were both in the crowd tonight. Miller even got pulled onto the court to attempt Rocky’s infamous backwards halfcourt shot. He misfired.
