How a 10-second sequence may have crushed the Nuggets’ playoff hopes

The Denver Nuggets’ 125-124 loss in Houston Monday was nearly one of their most impressive wins of the year.

After Will Barton‘s three-point play with 42 seconds remaining and a James Harden miss 11 seconds later, the Nuggets were clinging to a one-point lead at 124-123, with the ball, and 30 seconds left in regulation.

It would have been a monumental win for Denver. A victory without Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler over the third-seeded Rockets, who just beat the Nuggets in dramatic fashion Saturday at Pepsi Center.

Instead, what unfolded over the game’s final minute and really the last eight seconds of regulation will keep Michael Malone tossing and turning during the Nuggets’ two-hour…