It was easy to see the Brooklyn Nets would be tested early when assessing their schedule to start the season. For the fourth-straight game, the Nets were in a dogfight Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks. And for the third consecutive time, they came up short.

Brooklyn fell 129-125 in overtime to Dallas. Luka Doncic dominated the game in every aspect, posting 41 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists. Kyrie Irving (39) and Kevin Durant (37) combined for 76 points on 26-of-52 shooting, but the high-octane offensive duo was once again not enough.

The loss drops the Nets to 1-4 on the season. Some takeaways from Brooklyn's performance.

Nets lean on Simmons at the five

Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton's fit as non-shooters alongside one another was problematic for Brooklyn to start the season. Many expected the Nets to frequently play Simmons as a point center in small-ball lineups to counteract this. But the team spent just 16 minutes with Simmons at the five through their first four games.

That changed Thursday with the Nets leaning on small-ball. Brooklyn separated Simmons and Claxton for the most part, a move head coach Steve Nash said will help both find a rhythm offensively.

“We're trying to free those guys up to be more definitive and decisive in their roles,” Nash said of the adjustment. “When they're out there together there's a lot of moving parts for them to catch on the fly. I thought it gave Ben an opportunity to be more aggressive in patches.”

The move meant cutting second-year center Day'Ron Sharpe out of the rotation. The 20-year-old had struggled through four games. The combination of Simmons and Claxton/Sharpe condensed the floor and put an immense amount of pressure on Durant and Irving as shot-creators early on. The Nets ranked 18th in offensive efficiency heading into the matchup with Dallas.

Simmons looked more comfortable in spurts Thursday, finishing with seven points, eight rebounds and four assists. The move to the five opened driving lanes for Brooklyn's ball handlers to attack the rim. Despite this, the Nets were still severely shorthanded in terms of shooting with Joe Harris and Seth Curry sidelined. Simmons should have more opportunities to create as a ball handler when the pair of sharpshooters return. The three-time All-Star ranked second among all NBA players in 3-pointers assisted on through four seasons prior to coming to the Nets.

Brooklyn's ability to play Simmons at the five will depend on matchup. The small ball lineup will struggle to defend and rebound against bigger teams. Nash said postgame that he will continue to experiment with lineups, but the new role for Simmons is here to stay.

“We have to develop both, but Ben at the five is going to be a part of our team moving forward.”

Three-point struggles continue

Three-point shooting has been a struggle for Brooklyn and continued to be a main storyline in Thursday's loss. The Nets shot 12-of-35 (34.3 percent) from three. Dallas, on the other hand, was red-hot from deep, shooting 20-of-40 for the game and 7-of-12 in the fourth quarter and overtime.

The Mavericks got big contributions from their bench with Josh Green, Maxi Kleber, and Christian Wood shooting a combined 10-of-13 from three. Brooklyn's bench shot just 3 of 7 from deep with Edmond Summer and Davis Duke Jr. seeing extended minutes as non-shooters. Similar to Milwaukee, Royce O'Neale struggled in the second half, shooting 0-of-4 from three. He finished 2-of-8 for the game.

The Nets ranked 22nd in three-pointers attempted and 26th in three-pointers made heading into Thursday. Harris' re-acclimation and Curry's absence, along with Simmons and Claxton's fit as non-shooters, have been the driving factors behind Brooklyn's three-point struggles. Their returns, along with a heavier dosage of small-ball lineups featuring Simmons at point center, should help the Nets to improve in this area.

Simmons comes up big on defense

While Ben Simmons was quiet on offense again, the three-time All-Star came up huge on a pair of defensive plays down the stretch. The first came with Brooklyn trailing by two with under 30 seconds remaining. Simmons doubled Luka Doncic off a screen and came up with a steal before handing off to Durant for the game-tying dunk.

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The two-time first-team All-Defensive selection followed the play up with another great defensive stand. Simmons pressures Doncic, cuts off his driving lane, and stays on his feet on the pump fake to force Dallas into a corner three and send the game to overtime.

Dallas would go on to drain three consecutive three-pointers in overtime to put the game out of reach. Brooklyn shot 3 of 10 from the field and 1-of-5 from three in the extra period.

Despite the loss, the end to regulation was a bright spot for Simmons. While the-26-year-old's performance Thursday was not flashy, Simmons proved he can still make an impact with the game on the line against one of the league’s top offensive players.

Kevin Durant said Brooklyn's true resolve as a team would be tested when they face adversity in the regular season. That came straight out of the gate with a tough opening schedule pushing the Nets to 1-4.

Brooklyn will receive a boost Saturday with the returns of Joe Harris and Markieff Morris as they look to get back on track in a more favorable matchup against the Indiana Pacers.