Ime Udoka has called on his Houston Rockets team to learn from Sunday's defeat to the Denver Nuggets, which he described as a "missed opportunity" in the battle to be the No. 2 seed in the West.
The Rockets entered the game at Toyota Center on a season-best nine-game winning streak, which had put them second in the West behind the runaway Oklahoma City Thunder.
However, Jamal Murray scored 17 of his 39 points during a dominant third quarter as the Nuggets showcased their big-game experience in a 116-111 victory.
Denver's win came in the absence of MVP contender Nikola Jokic, who is expected to return this week after missing the team's last four games with an ankle injury.
Speaking after the game, Udoka lamented Houston's mistakes on a night where they shot just 32.4% from distance and only made 64.7% of their free throws.
"I don't know if it was as much their experience as us being sloppy and not taking advantage of some things," Udoka said.
"It felt like a very sloppy first half, and even late in the game, we had some transition opportunities we didn't convert. Overall, too sloppy and not crisp enough."
The Rockets host the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday before embarking on a three-game road stretch.
They are 46-26 for the season, but the Nuggets are now just one game behind them at 45-27, while the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies are lurking on 43 wins apiece.
"We didn't talk about it [the seeding], but this is a missed opportunity for sure," Udoka continued.
"We'll see Denver again, but regardless of tiebreaker, the standings or any of that... with how close we all are, it's definitely a missed opportunity."
Houston's final two games of the regular season will be against Los Angeles on April 11 and Denver on April 12, with that back-to-back potentially deciding their fate.
"I thought it was huge tonight," Nuggets center DeAndre Jordan said.
"We dropped one in Portland [a 128-109 loss to the Trail Blazers on Friday], where we felt we should have won if we had the right mindset.
"The Rockets are playing well, so we had to come out with a different mindset and lock in."