Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl has been on the brink of his 1,000th win for the last two games, but it’s just not happening. Not with a team that can’t seem to score and that isn’t playing defense—and both were the case last night in Boston. The Denver Post notes that the 105-89 loss against the Celtics marked the fourth game this month in which Chauncey Billups and Al Harrington didn’t shoot well (they’ve shot 36.8 percent and 27.7 percent from the field, respectively). It didn’t help that Carmelo Anthony missed another game due to a knee injury or that the Nuggets were playing against one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams in the second of two games in two nights.

Karl’s next attempt to become just the seventh NBA coach to reach the 1,000-wins milestone will have to wait until Friday in Toronto. “Did I ever think of 1,000? Hell, no. I almost have trouble comprehending it,” Karl told NBA.com earlier this week.

Meanwhile, CBS Sports reminds us that a generally good team and a healthy Karl haven’t yet been enough to persuade Melo to sign the three-year, $65 million contract extension the Nuggets have sitting on the table. “And right now, that ambivalence is the white elephant in the room,” writes The Boston Globe.