The Denver Nuggets (13-5) remain in good standing in the Western Conference, even with their loss to the San Antonio Spurs last night, but have yet to fully find their groove again after the team’s seven-game winning streak was snapped by the Chicago Bulls almost two weeks ago on Nov. 17. 

After that streak-ending loss, Denver has gone 3-3 across their last six games, and with injuries beginning to pile up – especially those to starters like Christian Braun (Left Ankle Sprain) and Aaron Gordon (Right Hamstring Strain) – the Nuggets appear to have hit their first significant road block of the season. 

“I mean, we’re scoring well, playing well, moving the ball well, guys coming in, playing hard, playing well,” Jamal Murray said in a postgame press conference last night. “The other team’s just making shots. Making shots, and a lot of them are open.”

Murray was not the only one to speak to the Nuggets’ defensive issues, which he alluded to in describing many of the Spurs’ shots as “open” in that press conference. 

Denver is currently 14th in defensive rating across the league, putting them right near the middle of the pack. 

“Honestly, I don’t know how they’re getting so open, but guys try to help each other and then we’re just late at the end of the shot clock, and I mean, Devin [Vassell] was hitting shots,” Murray said. [Julian] Champagnie came and hit some shots. Those hurt, ‘cause we’re playing well. So it comes down to defense, rebounding, extra possessions, one possession, one turnover, one steal. So we got to figure it out.”

Despite the loss, the Nuggets put together some particularly strong offensive outings against the Spurs. 

Murray had one of them, as he tallied 37 points on 13-for-20 shooting from the field and 5-for-8 shooting from 3-point range. He also picked up seven assists.

Cameron Johnson was Denver’s other all-star in last night’s outing, dropping a season-high 28 points and shooting 10-for-16 from the field and 6-for-9 from 3-point range. 

One of the bright sides of this topsy-turvy, .500 stretch for the Nuggets has been Johnson’s improved play following a slow start to the season. He’s now strung together a 20-point game, an 18-point game, and a 28-point game, respectively, in Denver’s last three contests. 

The Nuggets will continue to need Johnson and Murray, as well as Nikola Jokić’s scoring moving forward, and in the team’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns at 9 p.m. on Nov. 29.