The Denver Nuggets get ready to take on the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets once more in The Denver Stiffs Show.

Back with another Denver Stiffs Show is Zach & Gordon. We discuss the Sacramento Kings loss, but since there isn’t a game until Wednesday, we’re not sure what to do with our time.

As a result, we decide to continue our conversation from last week about the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets. For some reason, the NBA’s schedule wizards decided it would be a good idea to have the Nuggets and Rockets play four times in less than a month, even though this is only the third time the Nuggets have played the Clippers in that time.

On a back-to-back trip, the Denver Nuggets traveled to Sacramento to play the Kings. Sadly, the Nuggets’ fatigued legs won out, as they only managed a 24% three-point shooting percentage. In the end, that turned out to be the game-changing factor. On their way to lighting the lamp and ruining a major triple double from Nikola Jokic, the Kings get big performances from Malik Monk and DeAaron Fox (not so big from Fox to hit the over on his points though making the Thing to Bet cash again). Even though Denver rallied late, they are ultimately unsuccessful.

Behind Fox, the Kings got off to a strong start that gave them a slight advantage. Jokic retaliated, starting a Nuggets run that stretched their lead to five points before the Kings swiftly responded, tying the game.

Following that, both teams’ offenses faltered a little and they were both stuck at sixteen points. As the quarter came to an end, Joker gave Denver the lead back. As he checked out, Denver was ahead by eight points after he scored a ton of points in the first quarter, including a series of 7-foot floaters. With one minute remaining, the Kings made a few three-pointers and closed the gap to three. Denver led 30 to 25 at the end of the first quarter after Watson blocked a Fox layup attempt.

The fact that Javale McGee was blocking everything in sight and throwing it back a decade, in part, was the reason the Nuggets were unable to score to begin the second quarter. Following a 10-2 run by the Kings, Michael Malone called a timeout. It made absolutely no difference, and the Kings continued their run. Once the lead reached eight, Malone substituted Jokic after calling another timeout. A -13 for the first half’s non-jokic minutes.

Despite McGee’s delusions and his attempts to block everything, at least the bleeding stopped when Jokic returned. But Denver was having trouble catching up. With one minute remaining in the half, the Nuggets were still without a three-point shot, while the Kings appeared to be getting every bounce in their favor. Fox made a layup just before the half ended, capping a disastrous quarter in which the Nuggets trailed 64–50.

At the beginning of the second half, the Nuggets bullied their way to a 6-0 lead on all paint points. With two of his subsequent three points, Keegan Murray restored the lead above double digits. Surprisingly, Denver was still unable to make a three-point shot. They were unable to make their free throws even when they were fouled during three-point attempts. With just over half of the quarter remaining, the Kings managed to hold onto their lead. Denver’s offense continued to struggle, but the defense came together.

They began to make small progress, and after more than two minutes in the quarter, they were behind by nine points. As the quarter came to an end, the Nuggets’ momentum was shifting in their favor. They got as close as five, but at the end of the third, a Malik Monk three, a Fox steal, and a layup brought the score back to ten. Nuggets go behind 88–78.