Ty one on.

Danilo one-on-one.

The Nuggets won one.

Three victories to one.

It's not a series yet, but it's not quite finished yet.

The Nuggets finally became the team that won 15-of-23 against everybody except the Thunder. They made clutch shots in the closing minutes. They made The Can shake. They got contributions from several players, especially Ty Lawson (27 points) and Danilo Gallinari. They took the lead, then held off the Thunder.

And they are not ready to talk about next season.

But, aposiopesis

On Feb. 22, when the Big Trade officially was completed, team president Josh Kroenke said a "good ending to this stuff" would be if the Nuggets "get in the playoffs and make some noise."

Kroenke The Younger has, at last, been granted his second wish. The Nuggets and 19,155 made some noise.

Stuff happens.

Would the presence of Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups have made a difference in this series? Who knows, but those two didn't lead the Nuggets past the Jazz last year, and Melo went 0-for-4 against the Celtics this year. In seven of his eight seasons, Anthony's team didn't win the first round.

Besides, Carmelo was leaving at the end of the season, anyway, and the Nuggets would have received nothing in return.

"We may have had to take a step backward, but we didn't wipe out this team and have to start over," Kroenke said after the deal.

Until Monday

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night: Too many players with no or limited playoff experience. Too many players injured leading up, and into, the series. Too many players not wanting the ball down the stretch. Too many players underachieving, or even disappearing. Too many free throws missed, too few rebounds grabbed.

Coach George Karl hadn't found a meaningful rotation. Four of the five players obtained in the deal really haven't been serious factors for the Nuggets for most of the series.

In the opening game

the Nuggets blew an opportunity after a hot start. They went down hard in Game 3. Monday night they found the solutions, but it probably is too late.

Where do the Nuggets go from here?

Do unrestricted free agents Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith take their games elsewhere? Will the Nuggets and Nene agree on a long-term extension, or does the Brazilian opt out of the final year of his contract? Can the team keep Raymond Felton and Lawson happy together, or do they use Felton as "the commodity" to obtain another guard?

Do the Nuggets' executives, Kroenke and Masai Ujiri, decide to move forward with forwards Gallinari and Wilson Chandler? Does Karl intend to develop the undeveloped 7-footers, Timofey Mozgov and Kosta Koufos?

Will Arron Afflalo, a restricted free agent, agree to a long-term extension, and will he and Lawson become the leaders of a team that lacks floor leadership? What is Al Harrington's future in Denver? What about Gary Forbes? And where else does Chris Andersen put tattoos on his body before next year?

What free agents at power forward will be available and willing to come to Denver?

How much of the team will Kroenke and Ujiri change, now that the Nuggets finally are under the salary cap max and "don't have to sign all those minimum-wage guys, like we did for years," one high-ranking member of the organization told me.

Does it all matter? The NBA probably will follow the NFL into lockout mode, and next season may not start until sometime in 2012.

If the NBAffairs are settled, for both sides' sake, the Nuggets and J.R. will part. Martin will want to go to a veteran team with championship aspirations, money to spend and a need for toughness. Would Mark Cuban and Martin team up in Martin's hometown of Dallas?

The Nuggets could use that $21.5 million to attract star-power players, although none of the names are billboard-worthy, and the free agent market is lean. Unrestricted free agents Tyson Chandler, Carl Landry, Jamal Crawford, Samuel Dalembert will be floating out there.

The Nuggets can be expected to offer contracts to Nene, Afflalo and Chandler. They hope that Gallinari and Lawson become all-star candidates, Forbes is a factor off the bench and that Mozgov will become a legitimate center.

On the positive front, the Nuggets won't hit a void — as they did when Dikembe Mutombo departed as a free agent in 1996. The Nuggets won 21, 11 and 14 the next three seasons and didn't qualify for the postseason eight consecutive years.

On the negative back, the Thunder, Grizzlies, Trail Blazers and Clippers are coming of age in the Western Conference — and the Nuggets have to improve or be left behind.

First, though, the Nuggets still are playing after a rousing 104-101 win.

One for the Nuggets and . . .

Woody Paige: 303-954-1095 or wpaige@denverpost.com