Brooklyn @ Denver preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 6, 2019 ) Denver 130, Brooklyn 135

The Brooklyn Nets look to avoid falling three games below .500 when they continue a five-game road trip by visiting the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. Brooklyn fell to 1-2 on the trip when it blew a 15-point halftime lead en route to a 119-114 loss to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.

Point guard Kyrie Irving scored 27 points but he was a porous 2-of-11 shooting in the final quarter and didn't score over the last 7:19. "I felt like I had some great looks at the 3-point line," Irving said afterward of his misses, which included a potential go-ahead trey with 7.6 seconds left. "The whole night, I just felt like I had some great looks. I'm gonna shoot it better. If I make them, it's a different story." Denver had a four-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday as it couldn't contain Atlanta star Trae Young (42 points, 11 assists) while falling 125-121 to the Hawks despite having 31 assists and just three turnovers. "I'm not going to put the loss on our players," Nuggets coach Michael Malone told reporters afterward. "We win together, we lose together, and we'll watch film tomorrow and learn from this."

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT, Altitude 2 (Denver)

ABOUT THE NETS (4-6): Brooklyn was routed 138-112 by the Phoenix Suns on Sunday and responded with a strong first half against the Jazz before wilting poorly and being outscored by 20 over the final 24 minutes. "I thought we had two bad stretches: the beginning of the third quarter, beginning of the fourth quarter," Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters afterward. "Those are the two bad stretches and against an excellent team. Our margin is very small, especially on the road." Irving finished 10-of-30 from the field while reserve guard Spencer Dinwiddie added 21 points and is averaging 24.3 over the past three games.

ABOUT THE NUGGETS (7-3): Swingman Will Barton established season highs of 21 points and four 3-pointers against Atlanta and also contributed nine rebounds and four assists. Barton has scored in double digits in six straight games and is averaging 16.8 points and 9.7 rebounds during the stretch. Shooting guard Gary Harris was just 4-of-15 shooting while scoring 10 points and he hasn't tallied more than 17 this season while finishing in single digits on four occasions.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Nets averaged 123.5 points while winning both of last season's meetings.

2. Brooklyn SG Caris LeVert (thumb) is expected to miss multiple weeks, prompting the team to sign veteran SG Iman Shumpert.

3. Denver backup SG Malik Beasley (illness) hopes to return after a one-game absence.

PREDICTION: Nuggets 105, Nets 97