The Denver Nuggets meanwhile are in a freefall, losers of four straight. This problem gets magnified without star performer Jamal Murray, who will sit for the fifth straight game while recuperating from a pulled right hamstring. The team’s latest setback came on Sunday night, highlighting their struggles to maintain momentum since a narrow defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Nuggets find themselves in the middle of a brutal stretch. They’ve dropped three in a row, the last being a gut-punch 140-139 loss to the Timberwolves on April 2. In that game, a critical moment occurred when Russell Westbrook missed an uncontested layup that could have sealed the victory. The Nuggets seemed stunned in the wake of their loss. They committed an atrocious foul on Nickeil Alexander-Walker on a last-second three-pointer with a one-point lead.
Since that double-overtime loss to their fellow rivals, the Nuggets have drastically have had issues with their flow. Then they lost a humiliating game to the San Antonio Spurs, with all five of their starting players resting—which made their position all the more dire. Furthermore, even with an amazing 44-point opening quarter against Steph’s Golden State Warriors, they ultimately lost anyway.
Even with all the obstacles, Christian Braun was one of their most pleasant surprises this past season. He had a career-high 30 points in an overtime game against the Indiana Pacers. In a key sequence late in that game, Braun found himself in a pick and roll with Nikola Jokic. That led to a disastrous turnover with only 15 seconds left, forcing the Nuggets to foul and have only two points to work with.
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone was encouraged by Murray’s recovery. He added, “Hopefully he’s able to be back by then,” speaking of the expected games just ahead. Team captain Nikola Jokic acknowledged his team’s shortcomings. “We’ve lost four in a row, in a bad moment, so I think we’re a little bit down,” he added. He noted that “a win can always cheer us up or make us feel better about ourselves.”
The Nuggets can’t afford to get too down on themselves. They’ll look to build on their success when they welcome the Sacramento Kings to the Barclays Center on Wednesday night. After that interesting matchup, they’ll then host the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night before wrapping up their week at Houston on Sunday. Braun remains optimistic about the team’s potential as they approach the playoffs, asserting, “If we get to the playoffs I know this team can compete with anybody.”
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