Charles Barkley's going to make sure to avoid any and all national media on Monday because his "worst nightmare" was a Lakers win over the Nuggets, and it happened. Barely. The Nuggets dropped another clutch game, and once again, the ball bounced just right to cost the Nuggets another tight one.
The Nuggets needed a win to pick up the fourth and final tiebreaker against teams they are competing with for playoff seeding, but were unable to close out in regulation. They led by as many as seven with 3:50 to go in the fourth quarter, but squandered the lead and were victims of a brutal bounce on a purposely missed free throw by Austin Reaves, who rebounded it himself and hit the game-tying shot to force overtime.
The Nuggets couldn't hit a bucket in OT, shot 2-10 in the extra frame, lost Jamal Murray to fouling out, and lost the game to the Lakers 127-125. And they let Charles Barkley down big in the process.
A Laker win could give them validity to their record, and Barkley is staunchly against having to hear all the media talk about their viability as a contender. At halftime, he even called for a five-point Nuggets win. They got close, Chuck. But they had more bright spots than bad.
Bad loss on paper, but the Nuggets looked good
On paper, it's a rough loss. The Nuggets are back down to sixth place in the Western Conference standings, lost the tiebreaker to the Lakers, and are now 1.5 games behind them for third.
But if you take out the worst game Jamal Murray has had in some time, shooting 1-14 and fouling out, and the calamity of the bad bounce, the Nuggets actually looked really good.
Nikola Jokic had another triple-double, his 27th on the season. Jokic looked great, shooting 53% from the floor and finishing with 24 points, 16 rebounds, 14 assists, and 5 steals, including one in crunch time that he sprinted down the court to dunk.
Aaron Gordon and Cam Johnson looked great, too
Aaron Gordon looked fantastic. He shot 9-16 and 5-10 from three, leading the Nuggets in scoring with 27 points. Gordon nailed a few clutch threes, and his presence on the floor in crunch time will be a big boost for the Nuggets as the playoffs approach. He added 5 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Cameron Johnson also looked like he's rebounded a bit from a brutal stretch that had some in the media pondering his future in the starting lineup. Cam scored 18, and he's scored 15 or more in three straight games, shooting 47% from from three over that span.
All things considered, there's much more to be happy about than not. The Nuggets have played as well on the road as at home, so as long as they secure the sixth seed, their tiebreakers against everyone except the Lakers really help them stay out of the seventh seed. Staying healthy and gelling together, especially once Peyton Watson returns, are the biggest keys now.