The Brooklyn Nets looked like they were toast during the first half against the Denver Nuggets. They were down by as many as 21 points, and trailed 56-71 at the half. Then things just clicked, but not for the reasons you'd expect.

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving weren't playing bad by any stretch of the imagination in the first half, combining for 29 points on over 50% shooting from the field. The fact that they found themselves down by double-digits despite that felt like vindication for the Nets' doubters.

But things turned around in surprising fashion in the 2nd half, as the Nets turned up the intensity on the defensive end. Kevin Durant spoke up about the halftime shift that energized Brooklyn, via The New York Post's Brian Lewis:

“The last week or so we’ve emphasized a few things that we showed in the second half: Playing great 1-on-1 defense, boxing out, getting rebounds and flying off the court,” Durant said. “If we consistently do that, we’re in good shape. That second half was who we are and hopefully we build on it.”

The Nets outscored the Nuggets 41-33 in the third quarter, but the true death knell came in the fourth. The Nets played with purpose in trying to get crucial stops, turning the tide on the defensive side of the floor and limiting the Nuggets to just 15 points total. They contained Jokic to just six points on 2/6 shooting in the fourth quarter. More surprising than that? They gave up zero assists from him as well.

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This win is huge for the Nets, who critics always claim would get destroyed by the league's top big men like Jokic, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis. They showed that they can hold their own against the probable MVP, for at least one night.

Every NBA fan knows the Brooklyn Nets can outscore you. But if they can play even passable defense like they did against Jokic, just hand them the trophy already.