When Jamal Murray came out of Monday’s game against the Lakers with 3:06 left in the third quarter, he begged Nuggets coach Michael Malone to get back in for the fourth quarter.

Murray, who played 39 minutes in Saturday’s double-overtime thriller against Utah, had blown past his minutes restriction vs. the Jazz in what amounted to his first game in five months. According to Murray, his minutes had been limited to 22. According to Malone, their target had been 28 minutes. Regardless, two days later, the Nuggets took zero chances.

“I was begging him for four more minutes in the fourth at least,” Murray said. “’Just give me the last four minutes, but they said no.’”

He wasn’t the only one. The Nuggets rested all five of their starters — Nikola Jokic, Paul Millsap, Michael Porter Jr., Torrey Craig and Murray — for the entire fourth quarter and let the reserves take their chances against the No. 1 seed Lakers. As LeBron James drilled 3-pointers and Anthony Davis tread a path to the free-throw line, it was rookie Bol Bol, P.J. Dozier, Mason Plumlee, Keita Bates-Diop and Monte Morris who played extended minutes down the stretch.

After Bates-Diop came in with 2:26 left in the third quarter, the Nuggets didn’t make another substitution the rest of the game.

From a health standpoint, the team’s approach made sense. They’ve yet to be whole — Gary Harris and Will Barton remain out, and Jerami Grant missed Monday’s game vs. the Lakers — and Malone has emphasized the entire time in Orlando that the playoffs, on Aug. 17, are their priority. That it may have cost them the game — even when Saturday’s game vs. Utah was worth overextending Murray — seemed to be immaterial.

Malone had explained the thinking the before the game, so it wasn’t a shock to see their strategy.

“Jamal, Michael, Nikola, Jerami have all played an extremely high amount of minutes,” he said. “So, this game is an opportunity for us to compete, to get better, go out there and be prepared to win, like we do every night, but whether we win or lose, I’m not going to look too much into this because of who’s available and us closely monitoring how much we’re playing our key players.”

Despite playing 23 minutes, Morris said he had no idea Malone would choose to ride with the reserves.

“He didn’t talk to us or me or anything about getting extended minutes,” Morris said. “We earned them down the stretch. It was hard to bring us out. I like that as a coach what Malone did and the coaching staff, letting us ride it out. We were playing really well and had a chance to beat the No. 1 seed with all their guys out there.”

And while the Nuggets’ reserves nearly pulled off the upset, it’s impossible to ignore the context as the postseason approaches. Monday’s loss dropped the Nuggets to 1.5 games behind the No. 2 Clippers, who they play Wednesday.

The Nuggets are well within their right to rest starters with a bigger picture and health in mind, but it’s also possible they’ve considered the playoffs. And while they would never concede it, it’s tough to believe they don’t have a preference between Utah, Oklahoma City and Dallas, their three most likely first-round opponents. Monday’s loss makes it far less likely that they’ll jump the Clippers for the No. 2 seed. They’ll have two more seeding games (vs. Clippers, vs. Raptors) before the entire playoff bracket will be locked in.

For what it’s worth, Murray seems to have bought into the strategy.

“I’m cool with it,” he said, after playing in his second game since he was sidelined with a hamstring injury. “If they want to sit me or play me less minutes going into these last couple games, I’m cool with it. I just want to be ready for the playoffs.”