Charles Barkley's going to make sure to avoid any and all national media on Monday because his "worst nightmare" was a Lakers win over the Nuggets, and it happened. Barely. The Nuggets dropped another clutch game, and once again, the ball bounced just right to cost the Nuggets another tight one.
The Nuggets needed a win to pick up the fourth and final tiebreaker against teams they are competing with for playoff seeding, but were unable to close out in regulation. They led by as many as seven with 3:50 to go in the fourth quarter, but squandered the lead and were victims of a brutal bounce on a purposely missed free throw by Austin Reaves, who rebounded it himself and hit the game-tying shot to force overtime.