The Denver Nuggets lost their first three games to begin the NBA’s 2012-13 season and were sixth in the Western Conference by mid-January.
From that point until the regular-season’s end, they went 33-7 to finish with the West’s second-best record.
Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari, a member of that Denver team, brought up the six-year-old story late Thursday night following a 125-87 loss in San Antonio, believing it explained why he’s approaching a difficult stretch for the Clippers with patience, not panic.
“We have a good record now, we‘re still one of the best teams in the league, and we haven’t proved anything to anybody or to us,” Gallinari said.