You couldn’t blame the Denver Nuggets for already planning another lengthy playoff run.

However, retaining the Western Conference’s top seed for a second consecutive season is at stake.

Following Thursday’s 102-100 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Nuggets (53-24) are a half-game behind the No. 1 Minnesota Timberwolves and a half-game ahead of the No. 3 Oklahoma City Thunder in the fiercely contested Western Conference.

Denver will host the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night before finishing the season with four games against conference opponents.

In a vital game with seeding implications, the Nuggets surged out to an early 25-8 lead over the Clippers, but their lead was cut to a point late in the first half.

After a James Harden three gave Los Angeles a two-point lead with 32 seconds remaining before halftime, Denver trailed for the rest of the game.

“In the second quarter, the Clippers scored 33 points and shot 50 percent from the field,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone remarked. “We’ve got to really look at that film, because it seems like this is happening a little too often right now.”

Nikola Jokic of Denver had a usual all-around performance, recording game highs of 36 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists. Aaron Gordon was the Nuggets’ second-leading scorer, with 18.

Jokic leads the club with 26.5 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per game. Denver has been without Jamal Murray (20.9 points, 6.7 assists) since March 21 due to a knee injury.

“Those non-Nikola minutes, how can we survive those?” Malone added. “It’s hard when Jamal isn’t present because he’s typically there. But that (second quarter) was a significant chunk of the game.”

Malone was dismissed with 7:54 remaining after appealing a no-call against Denver’s Michael Porter Jr.

“The first thing I told my players is I apologize for getting thrown out,” Malone said at the time. “In a close game I’ve got to be there to help them at the end of the game.”

Atlanta (36-41) earned a play-in slot after going 6-2 in the last two weeks, marking its third consecutive appearance in the 7-10 tournament.

The only question now is whether the Hawks will play at home or on the road on April 17 (9-10). As of Friday’s schedule, Atlanta is a half-game behind the Chicago Bulls for the No. 9 spot.

The Hawks could have aided their situation with a win in Dallas on Thursday, but they lost 109-95, scoring only 14 points in the final quarter.

Atlanta’s De’Andre Hunter scored a 3-pointer with 6:16 left to trim the Hawks’ deficit to seven points, but he did not score again the rest of the game.

“I believe we gave ourselves a chance because we continued to work and fight on defense,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “We stayed there for the last five minutes. We had a couple three-pointers rim out and missed a layup that might have brought it to five.”

A day after recording his first career triple-double in a win over Detroit, Atlanta big Jalen Johnson was restricted to six points on 3-for-12 shooting against the Mavericks.

Nonetheless, the third-year player has had a great season, averaging 16.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game.

Atlanta is trying for its first road victory over Denver since November 12, 2019.