The Denver Nuggets’ magical season is catching a flat tire.
The Nuggets misplaced their third straight recreation on Sunday, this time falling at house to the Brooklyn Nets by a 122-120 remaining.
Denver got here into the competition having already misplaced back-to-back video games to sub-.500 opponents (Chicago and San Antonio).
Talking with reporters afterwards, Nuggets ahead Michael Porter Jr. expressed frustration with head coach Michael Malone. Porter put up 23 factors on an environment friendly 9-of-12 capturing however solely obtained a complete of 23 minutes (regardless of not even being in foul bother).
“[He] sat me the entire fourth [quarter] and put me in with 20 seconds left, I believe,” mentioned Porter of Malone, per Nuggets beat writer Vinny Benedetto. “So, I imply it’s inconceivable to catch a rhythm then.”
Certainly, the beginning ahead Porter went out on the 4:39 mark of the third quarter and didn’t return till a crunchtime possesion with 23.1 seconds left within the fourth.
Sunday was not Malone’s finest teaching efficiency in any other case both — he performed 11 completely different guys and leaned an excessive amount of on bench gamers who weren’t working reminiscent of Reggie Jackson (-20 in 17 minutes) and Jeff Inexperienced (-15 in 19 minutes).
The excellent news for the Nuggets is that they nonetheless have some first rate room for error. At 46-22 (even regardless of the three-game shedding streak), they continue to be 5 video games forward of the pack for the most effective file within the Western Convention and will simply clinch the No. 1 seed.
However their inside dynamics will probably be price maintaining a tally of, particularly since another Denver player already showed frustration with Malone this season.
