The Denver Nuggets suffered an unexpected defeat against the San Antonio Spurs and are at risk of losing home field advantage. Peyton Watson called the loss a big blow and stated that the team had one of its best home performances of the season.
The atmosphere in the locker room after the match was quite heavy. Most of the players were disappointed. Reggie Jackson stated that not much can be said beyond the disappointment of the loss.
The Nuggets suffered an unexpected collapse after gaining a significant lead against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the game. San Antonio turned the game around with a rally led by Victor Wembanyama and took the lead in the final minutes. Even with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray re-entering the game, the Nuggets were unable to mount a comeback.
After this defeat, there is a possible drop in the Nuggets' Western Conference standings. This means they potentially lose home advantage. The team's players admit that this loss could affect their playoff performance.
Watson states that there are not many lessons to be learned from the defeat and thinks the team is now past the point of learning.
“We had a chance to take 1st place,” Malone said. "And now, obviously, we'll probably get third place."
So did this disastrous defeat have anything to do with the play-offs? Is there a way for the Nuggets to harness the power of a low point and recapture it as motivation? Are there some lessons they can learn from this?
“I think we have an experienced team,” Watson said. “I don't think we learned anything from this game, to be honest. I think we've already learned that we can't do that. We are past the point of learning this now. … I think that's something we should have learned already.”