Nuggets lose at the buzzer to lousy Blazers group
Dec 19, 2024, 10:52 PM | Updated: 10:52 pm
For the second time this month the Denver Nuggets (14-11) have lost to a team at the bottom of the NBA standings, as the Portland Trail Blazers (9-18) won via buzzer-beater 126-124 Thursday night.
Anfernee Simons connected on the shot with less than a second left. He ran down the clock in a tie game and took Russell Westbrook off the dribble with a right-handed drive to the goal where he banked in a layup. It was about as easy as a shot in that situation comes, further showing Denver’s perimeter defensive woes.
ANFERNEE SIMONS WINS IT OFF GLASS 🔥#TissotBuzzerBeater #YourTimeDefinesYourGreatness https://t.co/TBdkqp6UuI pic.twitter.com/N3nDtOBAwJ
— NBA (@NBA) December 20, 2024
Westbrook was actually pretty solid on the night, scoring 19 and throwing seven assists off the bench. He was a major catalyst of Denver’s comeback from down 17 to begin the fourth quarter which likely earned him a spot in the closing group. But other areas of struggle that have popped up all season were issues again in Portland. Denver let up 15 offensive rebounds in the contest, for a multitude of second-chance points. The Nuggets also missed six of their 21 free throws. The Nuggets rank toward the bottom of the league in both getting defensive rebounds and connecting on free throws.
Nikola Jokic finished with 34 points, eight assists and six rebounds, while Murray chipped in 24 with 10 helpers. Simons’Â last bucket finished his tally at 28 and 10.
“After the Washington game, we had come to Jesus meeting,” Michael Malone said. “And we talked about where we were, how we were doing things, and how it wasn’t acceptable. And then we win three games in a row, and then we lose tonight to a team that obviously has been very competitive—I know what they’re capable of, but I think it’s just something that we got to continue to own and talk about and be honest about and not be in our own feelings. Like we have guys that are just not doing their job for long enough stretches right now, and that that has to change.”
Portland hadn’t won in the month of December, it’s the second time the Nuggets—including the loss to the Wizards where Denver was downed by a bad team. Now the Nuggets are in a stretch of five games in seven days with one of the season’s marquee games coming in Phoenix on Christmas.
