The Denver Nuggets have become accustomed to trailing at halftime. They’ve gotten used to coming back from double-digit deficits to win games.
It’s what they did three times against the Clippers, doing the work and earning the victories. It also can’t be denied that the Clippers played a role in their own defeats, coming up with no answers for the Nuggets’ runs.
But it’s a different Los Angeles team, the Lakers, in the Western Conference finals. One that doesn’t fall apart on its own.
And Friday night, the Nuggets were unable to make what has become a signature double-digit comeback, dropping Game 1 of the best-of-seven series to the Lakers, 126-114.
The Nuggets had a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter, but it was all Los Angeles after that. The second quarter is when Denver went down by double digits, and it was also the quarter that set the Nuggets up for what kept them from coming…
