Two days later, Nuggets coach Michael Malone was still salty over what transpired in Sacramento over the weekend.
The turnovers, the execution, the effort, the complacency were all still gnawing at him.
Up 87-73 with 6:40 left, the Kings closed the game on a 17-3 run to force overtime, where more turnovers and more stagnant offense snapped Denver’s six-game winning streak. Sour over the loss, the Nuggets (13-4) now have the daunting challenge of regrouping against the Los Angeles Lakers and their Western Conference-leading 17-3 record.
That was the context as Malone interrupted a question at Monday’s practice about the “two top” teams colliding at Pepsi Center on Tuesday night.