The Brooklyn Nets fell 124-101 to the Denver Nuggets Thursday at Ball Arena on the back end of a back-to-back. Following a last-second victory over the Phoenix Suns Wednesday, Brooklyn was no match for the defending champs before a sellout Denver crowd.

Here are three key takeaways from the blowout loss.

Fatigue sets in for Brooklyn

The Nets went down to the wire during a 116-112 win over the Suns Wednesday at Footprint Center. Their reward was a meeting with MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic and the defending champs at altitude. Brooklyn's fatigue was apparent from the jump as they scored 22 points in the first quarter and 17 in the second, shooting just 16-of-43 from the field (37.2 percent) and 3-of-12 from three (25 percent) with nine turnovers in the half.

Head coach Jacque Vaughn's squad entered the break in a 13-point hole, and they would never get closer, with the Nuggets opening up a 23-point lead at the end of the third quarter. Brooklyn emptied the bench in the fourth, playing Harry Giles, Armoni Brooks, and Jalen Wilson extended minutes.

Denver finished shooting 47-of-98 from the field (48 percent) with 31 assists and eight turnovers.

Offensive decision-making slows

The Nets could be without two of their key contributors

Denver head coach Michael Malone emphasized slowing down the Nets' potent three-point attack as his team's priority Thursday. The Nuggets opened the game with a clear defensive strategy of blitzing Brooklyn's ball-handlers in the pick-and-roll and shading to shooters on the perimeter. The strategy aimed to force the ball into Nets centers Nic Claxton and Day'Ron Sharpe in the short-roll.

It was successful early, with Brooklyn's center duo combining to shoot 3-of-11 with two assists and one turnover in the first half.

The Nets' decision-making was hesitant from top to bottom against Denver's defense, with the ball-handlers late to make reads on doubles and wings hesitating to pull the trigger from three. Brooklyn shot just 8-of-30 from three (27 percent) after attempting 41 in Phoenix.

No answers for Jokic

If there was ever a model for “making the game look easy,” Jokic would be the poster child, and Thursday's game would be the teach-tape. The two-time MVP picked apart Brooklyn's defense from the jump, finishing the night with 26 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and 10-of-12 from the charity stripe.

The Nets picked up one of their best wins of 2022-23 in Denver on Mar. 12, handing the Nuggets one of their seven road losses for the season. Vaughn slowed Jokic during the matchup by deploying a small-ball lineup with Dorian Finney-Smith at center.

However, the Nets didn't employ the strategy until late in the third quarter Thursday, with the game already out of hand. Claxton and Sharpe were no match for Jokic, who controlled the pace of the game and seemingly created advantages for his team every time down the court.

Entering Thursday's matchup, the 2023 Finals MVP was averaging 27.2 points, 12.6 rebounds and 9.4 assists on 54 percent shooting.

Thursday's loss brings the Nets to 13-11 on the season and 1-2 on their five-game West Coast swing. Brooklyn will have an opportunity to close the trip on a high note when they travel to face the Golden State Warriors on Saturday and the Utah Jazz on Monday.