{"id":397385,"date":"2011-04-25T04:47:21","date_gmt":"2011-04-25T04:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/25\/nuggets-facing-another-1st-round-exit-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-04-25T04:47:21","modified_gmt":"2011-04-25T04:47:21","slug":"nuggets-facing-another-1st-round-exit-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/25\/nuggets-facing-another-1st-round-exit-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuggets facing another 1st-round exit (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

DENVER (AP)\u2014Denver Nuggets<\/a> coach George Karl said a few weeks ago he wanted to match up with the Dallas Mavericks<\/a> in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.<\/p>\n

On the brink of being swept by Oklahoma City in the first round, his feelings are understandable.<\/p>\n

Denver\u2019s 97-94 loss on Saturday night put the Nuggets a game from losing in the first round for the seventh time in eight years. Injuries, player meltdowns and Karl\u2019s battle with throat and neck cancer have been factors in previous early exits.<\/p>\n

This time, Denver might just be dealing with a bad matchup.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a big part of me that\u2019s disappointed because of our failures,\u201d Karl said Sunday. \u201cBut I also know that sometimes some of the best teams lose in the first round because of matchups and circumstances. Oklahoma City does a good job against some of our strengths. We like the rim, and they have four defenders that like to protect the rim, and do it pretty well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Thunder\u2019s defense has frustrated the Nuggets late in games, and Denver has struggled to find a go-to player in crunch time.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, J.R. Smith<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> nearly brought his team back from 10 points down in the final 50 seconds when he hit two 3-pointers, but he air-balled a 29-footer in the final seconds that could have sent the game into overtime.<\/p>\n

Now the Nuggets are trying to avoid being swept for the second time in four seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re on the verge of getting swept it\u2019s always embarrassing,\u201d Smith said. \u201cYou never want to get swept let alone lose six out of eight to this team in the season. It\u2019s not a good feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Thunder have beaten the Nuggets five times in the past 18 days. Three of those games have been close, including Games 1 and 3 of this series. Denver has hurt itself with poor execution down the stretch and missed free throws.<\/p>\n

The Nuggets were 30 for 45 from the free throw line on Saturday and they\u2019re shooting 68.7 percent from there in the series.<\/p>\n

The Nuggets feel their little mistakes have made this series appear less competitive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re good. They\u2019re a good basketball team, but do you reverse it and say we\u2019re the best team if we make five more free throws and we win the game?\u201d Arron Afflalo<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> said. \u201cNow we\u2019re up 3-0.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Thunder are trying to maintain a balance while trying to win their first series since moving to Oklahoma City from Seattle three years ago. They have the youngest roster in the league and only five Oklahoma City players have advanced past the first round\u2014Kendrick Perkins<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Nate Robinson<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Nazr Mohammed<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Nick Collison<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Thabo Sefolosha<\/a>(notes)<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

They don\u2019t feel their inexperience will be an issue Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe closeout game is all mental,\u201d said Perkins, who won an NBA title with Boston in 2008. \u201cIt\u2019s going to have to be a mental game for us, mental toughness. It\u2019s not going to be easy, we\u2019re going to have to stick together and play possession by possession and make sure we make the extra effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Denver is trying to do what no other NBA team has done\u2014win a series after going down 3-0. The first step is getting back in the series, and Karl can draw on his experience when he coached the SuperSonics in the 1996 NBA finals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were 3-0 against a team called the Chicago Bulls<\/a>, and they had a rehearsal on our court on handing out the trophy,\u201d he said. \u201cThey had a stage they were going to bring on the court. They had people with scripts on who was going to do what and who was going to be where. We proceeded to win Game 4 and 5.\u201d<\/p>\n

Karl shared the anecdote with his team Sunday in the hope of giving his players something grab onto, but the biggest motivator for the Nuggets is pride.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been part of that on a bigger stage team celebrating on your home court,\u201d forward Kenyon Martin<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a good feeling by any stretch of the imagination. So we need win\u2014bottom line. There\u2019s no other way to put it.\u201d<\/p>\n

If they don\u2019t win, Denver will again make another early exit from the playoffs. Two years ago, the Nuggets reached the Western Conference finals before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> in six games, but that\u2019s the only time in the past eight years they advanced past the first round.<\/p>\n

Despite recent history, Karl\u2019s not ready to concede anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still think the process of learning and winning in the playoffs is still going on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Read this article:
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