By Christopher Dempsey
The task of taking down the Washington Wizards, owners of the third-best record in the Eastern Conference – and seventh-best in the NBA – was tough enough. The task was made exponentially harder when it was revealed two of the Nuggets’ top three scorers, Danilo Gallinari and Nikola Jokic, were out due to illness.
The Nuggets could have used the 33.6 points and 14.3 rebounds gone with Gallo and Jokic out of the lineup. They did not have enough firepower otherwise, and Washington, behind John Wall and Bradley Beal, beat the Nuggets 123-113 on Wednesday at the Pepsi Center.
And yet, because only Minnesota won out of the teams trying to catch the Nuggets in the eighth spot, they didn’t lose significant ground in their lead. Although, they are now just one game up on Portland, and no more than two games up on Dallas and Minnesota.
So, things are tightening.
Wall was the star of the night, scoring 30 points with 10 assists. Beal added 23 points fueled by five 3-pointers. But the biggest culprits in the loss were all of the hustle-type stats. The Nuggets were on the wrong end of rebounds (43-39), points in the paint (58-56), second chance points (16-11) and fast break points (19-17).
The Flow: When Wilson Chandler started the game right where he left off after 36 points on Monday night, the Nuggets were in good shape. They carved out a four-point lead. They shot the ball well from the field. But the Wizards were busily doing the same thing. Bradley Beal and John Wall combined to miss just one shot in the first and the Wizards closed the last 1:57 of the first on a 10-2 run, giving them a 35-28 lead.
Another massive Wizards run, 14-1, in the second quarter severely damaged the Nuggets ability to stick close. By midway through the third, the Wizards had built a 24-point lead as the Nuggets struggled to get a foothold.
Jamal Murray, however, provided some rays of hope when he scored 10 straight Nuggets points in a span of 2:27 at the end of the quarter. The lead was cut to 12 going into the fourth. Washington basically played the Nuggets even in the final 12 minutes to hold on for the victory.
Deciding run: Washington hit the Nuggets with a 21-5 run from 8:02 to 1:58 in the second quarter, taking a 3-point game and turning it into a 19-point deficit.
What it means: The loss means the playoff pressure is on. Portland is now just one game behind with a little more than a month left to play.
Nuggets standouts: Gary Harris led the Nuggets with a career-high 26 points. Wilson Chandler added 21 points. Mason Plumlee had a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Jamal Murray scored all 17 of his points in the second half.
Stat of the game: 1: This is the Nuggets first loss at home this season (11-1) when they shot at least 50 percent. They made 52.9 percent from the field. They are 16-3 overall now when shooting at least 50 percent.
Next: The Nuggets end the homestand with a game against the Boston Celtics on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Pepsi Center.