Recap: The Denver Nuggets are their worst enemy until the last second, losing 110-112 to Washington Wizards.

The Denver Nuggets were hoping for some return on their investment against a Washington Wizards team that beat them just a week ago in times of decline, but it wasn’t meant to be. Despite the great performances of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr .; The own ineptitude of Bradley Beal, Russell Westbrook and Denver has proven too important. 10 offensive rebounds given up, 18 turnovers and a numbing late-game streak later and the Nuggets lose again to Washington. Wizards take it 112-110.

The offense was scarce to start the match. The Nuggets couldn’t buy a basket but neither did the Wizards and they combined for four points in the first two minutes. Jokic resumed the attack after that, scoring Denver’s first seven points, while Beal did so for Washington. Denver must have missed 5 layups to open the game, but halfway through the first they still had a one point lead. They got a little sloppy with the ball after that and Washington took the lead. Rui Hachimura threaded a few baskets and the wizarding advance grew. Denver stopped the bleeding but couldn’t close the gap. After a quarter, the Nuggets had seven turnovers and were trailing four points.

The offense struggled to open the second quarter just like the first, two minutes after the start of the second, the Nuggets found themselves down nine. The toboggan continued to be difficult and also a lot of tweaking on the shots over the quarter. The Nuggets ‘defense was solid, so the Wizards’ lead didn’t grow. Eventually they found some rhythm and started to take the lead, but strangely Jokic wasn’t really involved in the offense either. Washington’s offensive was completely gone, however, so the lead continued to decline. Almost at the right time, Joker started getting the basketball and making some shots. With the attention on him, he punched Facu Campazzo in the corner for an open three that gave Denver back the lead. The teams went back and forth to end the half with Washington in twos at the end.

The Nuggets refocused on attacking the basket to open the second half but also lost some focus on the defensive end. Denver kept things tight but they continued to shoot each other in the foot which prevented them from regaining the lead. MPJ warmed up halfway through the quarter, keeping Denver close, but then they started to unravel a bit, which allowed the Wizards to get up at seven and force Michael Malone to a time out. Eventually the Nuggets started making lines, led by Jokic naturally, and came down to less than two, but like clockwork, they flipped him over and gave up a layup on the other end. Denver didn’t give up though, they continued to push back with all three balls and keep the Wizards in a bucket or two. Jokic found Zeke Nnaji on a great feed at the last minute of the quarter to finally put Denver back in front. After three years, everything was tied at 88.

Murray was aggressive to start the fourth and got two quick buckets to put Denver back in the lead. The Nuggets held the lead after that, but the Wizards weren’t leaving either. Murray, Porter and Jokic carried the load, halfway through the quarter they were still hanging on to a two point lead. The lead should have been in double digits, but the Nuggets just couldn’t stop making small mistakes. Carrying catching a rebound but not holding it tight and being stripped by Westbrook was a prime example that got the Wizards back in front. It was obvious that the game was going to come down to the wire. Washington continued to get second chance opportunities and convert, giving them a four-point lead with two minutes remaining. The Nuggets got under two with 30 seconds left and got the ball for a final possession. Murray inexplicably stopped a quick break at the three-point line, appeared to get lost for a second, and threw a late pass to Facu who missed all three on the buzzer. The Nuggets lose 112-110.