By Sam Adams

So much for the Mile High altitude being an asset. After the Broncos choked away a three-game division lead during the NFL season, we’re starting to hear the Nuggets gasping and wheezing in the NBA standings.

Oxygen masks, please.

The Nuggets lost their third straight game, 97-95 to the Houston Rockets Monday night at the Pepsi Center. Denver is losing steam while being passed up by Utah and Portland in the Northwest Division.

Question is, how far away is the pump for a much-needed refueling? The
Nuggets have lost five of their past six games — and eight of 12 games
since the All-Star break.

On Feb. 17, Denver was being touted around the league as a serious Western Conference championship contender at 36-17. At 40-25, things appear to deteriorating at an alarming pace.

Someone in the NBA offices must’ve had an inkling that the Nuggets might be struggling at this juncture. The next three games on the schedule for the Nuggets are against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers and New Jersey Nets — the league’s equivalent of Larry, Curly and Moe.

Then again, on Sunday the Nuggets lost to the team with the league’s worst record, the Sacramento Kings. So who are the Stooges right now?

The Nuggets’ latest trail of woes might seem baffling to some, but really should come as no surprise. They’re built to contend for a playoff berth, not to win an NBA title. When the cream rises, the weary usually settle toward the bottom.

The Nuggets, right now appear weary. They have become Chauncey Billups playing a steady brand of ball at the point, coupled with some schizophrenic play from several players — including Carmelo Anthony.

Even Billups has had his share of inconsistent moments during this recent stretch of Nuggets losses. This is the stage of the season when good teams thrive on consistency — especially from the point guard.

Notice the hot teams in the West right now? New Orleans. Utah. San Antonio. All three have younger point guards who seem to be taking charge.

Utah’s Deron Williams (24 years old) and New Orleans’ Chris Paul (23), a pair of Olympians, are running circles around their opponents. And we forget that the Spurs’ Tony Parker, a wily eight-year NBA veteran, turns 27 years old in May.

So here is Billups, at age 32, having to tote a heavy load for the Nuggets. He’s being counted on to carry Denver’s offense while conserving body energy as the team tries to regain one of the conference’s top four seeds.

One can only wonder what roster moves the Nuggets’ front office would have made if their hands weren’t tied by salary restraints. A veteran shooting guard to help J.R. Smith. A backup center or power forward to help Nene. A reliable point guard to spell Billups.

With 17 regular season games remaining, the Nuggets hold the seventh seed in the Western Conference playoff standings, one game ahead of the Dallas Mavericks.

Plain and simple, coach George Karl has to find a way to extract maximum effort — and something extra — from the entire roster as the regular season winds down.

The odds and the schedule point toward the Nuggets getting their act
together and finishing with at least 50 wins. Fifty could be enough to win the Northwest Division.

Anything less than 50 wins might be good enough to get another first-round date against the L.A. Lakers or San Antonio Spurs.

If there ever were a time for the Nuggets to take a deep breath and relax, this isn’t it. Not when the rest of the league can hear the air seeping out of the playoff bubble.