For the Nuggets, a lot has changed in six weeks.
On Dec. 8, they woke up in Atlanta after suffering an inexcusable defeat the night before in Washington, where their last lead of the game was 4-2. The Wizards snapped a 16-game losing streak.
Denver was 11-10 and exhausted, with a road back-to-back to finish against the high-flying Hawks. Nikola Jokic in particular had a million miles on him at the one-quarter mark of the season. He was averaging 37.7 minutes, and a career-high 56 points had gone to waste against the Wizards, adding insult to injury.