The Denver Nuggets didn't have a bad game, but costly turnovers allowed the Sacramento Kings to pull out a win
The Denver Nuggets proved themselves as one of the top teams in the NBA on Friday night, taking down the Houston Rockets in a 112-109 victory. A team that will likely be the top threats to prevent the Oklahoma City Thunder from making consecutive NBA Finals, they failed to keep up that momentum on the second half of their back-to-back.
After returning from Houston, the Nuggets played host to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night, a team that entered the contest with just three wins on the season. In his third revenge game since leaving the Nuggets this past offseason, Russell Westbrook finally got the job done, as his 21 points and 11 assists led the Kings to a 128-123 victory.
It was a narrow victory for the Kings, who used a strong second-half performance to end their eight-game losing streak. While there weren't many mistakes from a Nuggets team that out-rebounded the Kings and shot 49% from the field, turnovers ultimately decided the contest.
The Nuggets finished with 13 turnovers, while the Kings had just six, all coming from just three players. After the game, Nuggets wing Peyton Watson spoke about the team's troubles with protecting the ball.
Turnovers Lead To Loss
"Just being careless with the ball. Myself included," Watson mentioned, as he was tied for a game-high with three turnovers. "Just with our post entry passes, some of our ball handling. They really got into us, and they allowed those turnovers to fuel their break and fuel their offense. It was tough; we got to take care of the ball better. Just have more attention to detail."
While Watson could've pointed the finger at the team coming off a tough contest just the game before, he said that's the reality of the NBA. It's been a hot topic so far this season, with teams such as the Golden State Warriors playing several back-to-backs early in their schedule. However, Watson avoided pointing the finger in that direction.
Looking more into those turnovers, the Nuggets conceded 20 points to turnovers, which also goes with the 23 fast-break points they conceded as well. Even though the Kings were undermanned without their star center in Domantas Sabonis, they managed to take advantage of the mistakes Denver made.
As for Watson, there were still some positives to take away, such as his 15 points and seven rebounds on three made three-pointers. He and the team will look to put this loss in the review and bounce back when they travel to face the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.