After a trip to the Western Conference finals in the bubble, things haven’t been going to plan for the Denver Nuggets this season, and Thursday night’s loss to the Washington Wizards was the latest example. It wasn’t just that they lost, but the bizarre manner in which it happened.
We’ll pick things up with six seconds left in the fourth quarter. After Raul Neto misses a layup, the Nuggets have the ball and trail by two points. And thanks to a kind bounce on the rebound, they’re off to the races with a numbers advantage. Pushing the ball out ahead of him, Jamal Murray led a 3-on-1 fastbreak that put the Nuggets in great position to tie or win the game. Then this happened.
Murray picked up his dribble at the 3-point line, which was a somewhat questionable decision, but by then he had three teammates to help him. Except all three Nuggets spaced out to the 3-point line themselves, despite there being no defenders near the rim. With time running out, he fired a pass to Facundo Campazzo, who launched a desperation heave that didn’t come anywhere close. Ball game. Nuggets lose.
Without being too much of a prisoner of the moment, this was easily one of the worst fast breaks ever. Especially when you consider the time and score. Somehow no one involved managed to do the right thing, though the upside was it led to this hilarious screenshot.
Unbelievable. Even Bradley Beal couldn’t comprehend how the Wizards escaped.
After the game, Murray took to Twitter to apologize to the Nuggets’ fans. “My fault Nuggets nation,” Murray wrote. “On to the next one.. STICK WITH US!!”
That wasn’t solely Murray’s fault, and if anything it was more on his teammates for not cutting to the basket for a wide open layup. In any case, this was the fourth loss in six games for the Nuggets, who are now 17-15 on the season and clinging to the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
