The Denver Nuggets’ final game troubles continued on Sunday as the team missed another opportunity in crunch time during a 128-117 loss to the Golden State Warriors. Despite Nikola Jokic scoring 35 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists, the Nuggets could not perform when it mattered most.
The Nuggets have lost six of their last nine games and their star player is not holding back from making his point.
“I’m definitely worried because we’re losing games,” Jokic said. “We’re losing games, and we’re not making open looks. So it’s something we need to change. … I don’t know what it is, but we need to figure it out.”
After the loss, guard Christian Braun cited a lack of physicality and positioning as the root cause of Denver’s struggles.
“I think there’s been a lot of things this year that we haven’t been able to hold down,” Braun said. “Not being tough enough.” “It has nothing to do with our process. It has nothing to do with anything other than our need to keep our place.”
The Warriors took advantage of Denver’s defensive flaws, with Brandin Podziemski scoring 12 points in the final five minutes to seal the win.
Now sitting at 36-22, the Nuggets face a turning point ahead. After a few days’ rest, they will face Boston Celtics at home on Wednesday. Then on Friday they face the Oklahoma City Thunder, who currently have the league’s best record.
As the playoffs approach and the Nuggets want to maintain their legitimate contender status, they will have to find a way to close out these games.
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