Three things to Know: Denver drops third straight. How concerning is that?

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Have the Denver Nuggets — with their comfortable five-game lead in the West — taken their foot off the gas?

They looked passive for much of their game Sunday against the Nets, especially to start the second half, and they ended up down 15 midway through the fourth. The Nuggets flipped the switch — and Nikola Jokić did his part with 35 points, 20 rebounds, and 11 assists — but his attempted game-winner clanged off the rim and the Nets got the 122-120 win.

Nikola Jokic became just the third player with 3+ games of at least 35 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists!

The other two: Wilt Chamberlain (11) and Elgin Baylor (3).

BKN outlasted DEN in a thriller. pic.twitter.com/ly79GGF9wc

— NBA (@NBA) March 12, 2023

Give the Nets credit, Spencer Dinwiddie dished out 16 assists and this is a quality road win for a team trying to hang on to a top-six seed. Brooklyn may not be the same threat they were before the trade deadline, but they are not a pushover.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone’s reaction to the three-game losing streak? “It happens … We probably spoiled a lot of people.”

The Nuggets have seemed more passive of late, beyond just this three-game losing streak, as evidenced by Jokić. There was buzz about him shooting less a few games back after he was 5-of-8 in a win over the Raptors (he has shot more during this losing streak, including 14-of-23 attempts on Sunday). And as Matt Moore of the Action Network has pointed out, Jokić has called a lot more drop coverage for himself of late on