DENVER — Will Barton arrived in Denver via trade from Portland in February 2015. Denver finished the 2014-15 season with a 30-52 record, good for 12th place in the Western Conference. In his first full season in Denver — which coincided with Michael Malone’s first season at the Nuggets’ helm — Denver tallied 33 wins and climbed to 10th in the West. Last year, the Nuggets finished one game out of a playoff spot.
What would it mean for Barton to see the Nuggets’ rebuild through and make the playoffs? Well, a lot.
“For me personally, it would mean everything,” Barton said after the Nuggets’ 100-96 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. “Growing up you always want to be a part of a playoff team, especially a guy that’s in the rotation and being a big part of it. That’s one of my goals. No one wants to be putting up numbers on a bad team. That don’t really get respected. As a team that’s been our goal since the beginning of the year. I know it would mean a lot for coach, the front office and the players.”
Barton filled up the stat sheet yet again Thursday night on TNT, which according to the 27-year-old stands for “Thrill National Television.” Barton scored 14 points to go with six rebounds and six assists. For a 10th consecutive game, Barton stepped into the Nuggets’ starting lineup for Gary Harris who’s been sidelined with a right knee sprain.
Behind Barton, Jamal Murray, who finished with a team-high 22 points, and some unexpected heroics from backup point guard Devin Harris, Denver picked up its fourth-straight win. The Nuggets’ largest margin of victory across those four wins? Four points.
After struggling to close out teams in fourth quarters over the first half of the season, the Nuggets are all of a sudden coming up clutch late in games in what multiple players have described as “playoff-type atmospheres.”
“I feel like we just want it more right now,” Barton said about his team discovering their clutch gene. “We haven’t been hitting shots as a team these last two game like we usually do. But we’re winning these games because we’re showing that we want it more. And defense. We’re playing really good defense, and like I said we’re just showing them that we want it.”
The Nugget shot under 40 percent from the field and hit just 11 of their 36 three-point attempts against the Timberwolves but rallied with defense to close out Minnesota. The Nuggets held the Timberwolves to just three points over the final 2:47 of regulation.
“I don’t think we really relied on our offense. I thought we relied on our defense down the stretch,” Paul Millsap said. “Getting stops when we needed them. Normally earlier in the season, it was mostly our offense and we weren’t getting stops, but now we’re really buckling down on the defensive end to get stops and really close the game out.”
The Nuggets are in control of their own destiny with three regular-season games remaining. Three wins, and Denver breaks its four-year playoff drought. If the Nuggets lose, they will need some help.
After Thursday’s win, the Nuggets are tied with the Timberwolves for the eighth seed in the West but likely still need a victory over Minnesota on the last day of the regular season to get even in the head-to-head tiebreaker.
“When I got here that was a big part of my vision, being a part of turning this thing around. Being a key cog in getting this thing back on track and it’s close. I smell it,” Barton said. “We’re just going out every game, taking it one game at a time not looking ahead, just wanting it.”
