The Nuggets lost 124-111 to the Jazz on Wednesday night in a game that was never close. They return home to face the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday (8 p.m. MT, ESPN) at Ball Arena.
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
Outworked, especially on defense
This was arguably the Nuggets’ most disappointing effort of 2023-24 to date, considering they had fresh legs from two days off and a one-hour flight to Utah. The Jazz lead peaked at 25 points during the third quarter, nearly matching Denver’s largest deficit of the season — but when it was 26, it was against the title-contending Thunder, rather than a sub-.