Nets Players React to Fourth Straight Loss

In the opening act of a six-game West Coast road trip, the Brooklyn Nets conceded history at Ball Arena.

After the 124-105 loss to the Denver Nuggets, Nikola Jokic recorded his seventh triple-double against the franchise, the most by a player against a single team in the NBA's 77-year history.

Additionally, Russell Westbrook posted a 25-11-10 game, marking just the second time that a duo has achieved the feat in the same game.

Despite the historic performances, Brooklyn battled to the very end.

Jan 10, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons (10) during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

“That group off the bench did a great job and we just couldn’t sustain it as a group when the other group came back in,” Head Coach Jordi Fernandez said via Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “Obviously, you need a break, you need to bring guys back in. You cannot just play with five all the way through. And I understand not in rhythm, whatever it is, but we need more urgency and more focus to get back in and get that going."

Without Cam Thomas, Cam Johnson or D'Angelo Russell, the Nets leaned on a balanced scoring attack that saw seven players tally double-digits in the scoring column.

Keon Johnson led the way with 22 points, continuing his offensive emergence dating back to Dec. 23.

Jan 10, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) defends on Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) in the second half at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

“A few mistakes compounded on top of each other towards the end of that stretch and they made it an even wider gap compared,” Johnson said. “They opened that stretch up and took the fight out of us a little bit.”

Alongside the 22-year-old was Ben Simmons, playing in his first contest since New Year's Day.

“Yeah, I just don’t think we kept that pace up. You know, we had spurts where we did it and we looked good, and the ball’s moving and guys are driving," Simmons said following a 10-point, seven assist effort. "Then spurts where we weren’t pushing the ball, they were getting easy buckets and kind of deflated us. It slowed us down.”

Brooklyn's next chance to snap their now-four-game skid will be in Utah against the Jazz tomorrow at 8 p.m. EST.

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