"Two nights following a signature victory, the Washington Wizards pushed another Western Conference front-runner to the brink on the strength of a blistering first quarter, but this time, they tumbled at the finish in a 108-104 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday night before 14,866 at Verizon Center.

The Wizards got a team-high 25 points from Nick Young, who on Friday morning declared he had returned to top form. Then several hours later, he backed up those claims with 17 points in the first 12 minutes.

But Young and his teammates bungled chances when it mattered most, and Al Harrington's three-pointer with 1 minute 14 seconds remaining all but put the outcome out of reach for Washington, which on Wednesday toppled West-leading Oklahoma City, 105-102.

"We played hard. We played well," Wizards Coach Flip Saunders said. "We had opportunities. Just didn't seem we could hit. Missed a couple easy opportunities. Had some good defensive stops. Couldn't come up with the loose ball. Harrington killed us."

Washington (2-13) had taken a 98-97 lead with 4:07 left on Jordan Crawford's three-pointer, and Young drew a charge to give the Wizards a chance to grow the margin. Denver, however, scored the next three points, including Arron Afflalo's layup with 2:07 left, to wrest the lead for good."