For a while, it seemed like the Denver Nuggets were going to run away with the number one seed in the Western Conference. But over the past few weeks, the Nuggets definitely made that race a bit interesting, falling into bad habits and suffering a few uncharacteristic losses along the way. During this stretch, it seemed like MVP voters began to sour on Nikola Jokic's chances of winning the award for a third straight time.

One of the Nuggets' worst losses came this past Tuesday; with a chance to clinch the best record in the conference against the bottom-dwellers Houston Rockets, head coach Michael Malone's squad fell flat, suffering a 124-103 defeat that drew some unforgiving jeers from the social media crowd.

As dispiriting as that defeat was, the Nuggets eventually clinched the one-seed, by virtue of a Memphis Grizzlies loss to the New Orleans Pelicans yesterday. But clearly that was not good enough for Jocelyn Malone, the wife of the Nuggets head coach, as she congratulated her husband with some playful banter, as Malone revealed to the media.

“‘[She told me] it would’ve been a lot better if you guys got it with a win. She’s my ex-wife now,” Malone joked, per Mike Singer of the Denver Post.

Of course, the best jokes are the ones with some semblance of truth in them. There is certainly a hint of truth in what Malone's wife said that may have struck a teeny, tiny nerve for the Nuggets coach, as it certainly would have been better for morale and momentum had they dispatched of the Rockets with ease.

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At the very least, Michael Malone seems to be in a better mood days after he put the team on blast. Malone reportedly told his team that they would be mere first-round fodder despite being the one-seed if they continue to play like they did against the Rockets. Moreover, Malone went at his team, calling them soft and challenging them to push back on that accusation, which no member of the team did.

But at the end of the day, the Nuggets must shake off that loss and lean into the good vibes the team displayed for much of the season for them to make a deep postseason run.