DENVER — The shorthanded Nets already brought a losing streak into their most daunting road trip of the season.
Their slump promises to get a little longer.
The injury-riddled team fell, 124-105, to the Nuggets on Friday night at Ball Arena, a rough way to start a six-game Western swing.
Denver superstar Nikola Jokic — who entered leading the NBA in scoring (31.5) and ranked second in assists (9.7) — was questionable after missing the prior two games with a non-COVID illness.
Naturally, he came back against the Nets and was every bit as dominant as expected, posting a triple-double with 35 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds.
“He’s the game plan,” said coach Jordi Fernandez, a former Nuggets assistant. “Yeah. So, obviously, a very good team. They’ve been together for a long time, very well coached. And you know the ball is going to be in Nikola’s hands. He leads the league in post-ups, No. 2 in assists, No. 1 in touches. So that’s who he is.
“Then he has great teammates around, a guy that can take over and dominate the game in Jamal [Murray], Michael [Porter Jr. is] shooting very well. The whole team, they know what they’re doing. … So we’ve done our job, we’re prepared to play this team. And it’s a good challenge for us because you don’t get to face the best player in the world every day.”
The Nets got a team-high 22 points from Keon Johnson and 19 off the bench from Tyrese Martin.
But with leading scorer Cam Thomas, shooter Cam Johnson and point guard D’Angelo Russell all hurt, they lacked firepower.
“It’s been a tough year for them, but when you look at everything they’ve gone through this year — the trades, the players and all that — the most important thing for Jordi … is to establish a culture. Then as you add pieces to that culture, then the wins will come,” Denver coach Mike Malone said.
“That’s what I tried to do here in Year 1, 10 years ago. But before the wins are going to come, you’ve got to create an identity, you got to create a culture. And I think Jordi is on his way to doing that.”
The Nets (13-25) fell behind by as many as 22 in the third before their fast break-fueled rally fell short in the fourth.
They mounted a 19-3 run to pull within 97-92 when Martin found Reece Beekman for a 3-pointer with 8:18 to play.
Denver, just 2-3 without Jokic, improved to 20-12 with him.
The Nets’ lottery positioning improved as well.
They have dropped four straight and seven of their last eight and, in the process, moved out of a tie with the Trail Blazers and into the sixth-best odds in the draft lottery.
The Nets play at Utah and Portland, fifth and seventh in lottery positioning, on this marathon road swing that could be pivotal for draft positioning.
The Nets led 46-40 with 6:40 left in the second quarter but allowed a 16-2 Nuggets run.
Jokic started it by finding Russell Westbrook for a cutting layup, and Westbrook’s tip-in capped it.
The Nets went into the locker room down, 65-59, at the break.
They allowed a 14-3 run in the third and fell behind by 22.
The Nets didn’t quite capitulate, reeling off 12 unanswered points spanning the third and fourth quarters. They pulled within five but got no closer.
A final 14-3 Denver run padded the score back to 117-100 with less than three minutes left, and the game was over.
“Its been exciting because I get to see guys that have never been in certain roles or played minutes in the NBA and they get to do it for the first time. So I don’t think frustration will take me to a good place, especially encouraging the guys, and see them compete and fight,” Fernandez said. “Obviously, you want to be better, you want to win every game, and that’s what we’re aiming for is just keep getting better developing these guys and have the chance to fight for wins.”
