Watching the Nuggets lose to the Rockets tonight, I couldn't pinpoint any one thing that really did the Nuggets in. If you look at the starters' +/- line in the box score it's pretty ghastly, but I didn't think they played that badly.In addition, the refs seemingly gave the Nuggets every close call throughout the game. And considering it was the second game of a road back-to-back, I was pleased with the Nuggets effort - especially in the second quarter when they controlled the flow of the game on both ends of the floor.
The second half was a different story, however. And even though the Nuggets hung within six to eight points through much of the third quarter, you just never got a sense that they were going to pull this game off.
Kudos to J.R. Smith, Chris Andersen, Anthony Carter and Linas Kleiza for a spirited effort off the bench. Unfortunately, some games just aren't meant to be.
On a side note, for those of you who didn't catch the game, be sure to watch the highlights for Nene's thunderous dunk on Yao Ming. It was ridiculous!