The Denver Nuggets suffered a second straight embarrassing loss on the West Coast, losing 122-102 to the Sacramento Kings. The defeat came a night after the L.A. Clippers soundly defeated Denver, a would-be contender that is starting to fall apart.
Nuggets Vs. Kings: Tyreke Evans Outduels Carmelo Anthony As Denver Takes Ignominious Defeat
The Nuggets were thrashed by the ultra-young Kings all night, save for a run in the third quarter. Sacramento led by 14 at halftime, but Denver’s defense tightened up to start the third and the Nuggets were able to tie the game at 79 with 3-1/2 minutes left in the period. The Kings responded with an unbelievable 12-0 run to go ahead for good. (I call the run unbelievable because these Kings don’t make those kind of runs.)
The Kings ran the break beautifully all night, and Evans ended up with a season-high 12 assists, many in transition. He also scored a good portion of his game-high 27 points on the break or, more often, the secondary break. He shot 11-18 from the floor and had just one turnover. Fellow youngster DeMarcus Cousins had another solid performance, picking up 20 points on 7-12 shooting with six rebounds. Small forwards Francisco Garcia and Omri Casspi went a combined 7-11 from downtown; that's really the biggest key for the Kings' offense most nights, whether the wings can hit shots. They did, and the Nuggets looked slow in chasing out on the perimeter.
The ignominious back-to-back defeats beg the question at how ready the Nuggets are to blow this up. Denver continues to affirm its interest in getting something for Carmelo Anthony, but until a trade actually goes down, the Nuggets just float along, winning half their games and ensuring a mediocre draft pick (at best). At the very least, more defeat like this won't help the Nuggets sell 'Melo. Desperation is a bad bidding tool.
Denver Stiffs is understandably disappointed. Sactown Royalty is understandably gleeful.
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