Nets offense was ice cold in loss to reigning NBA Champions

The Nets got their biggest win of the season on Wednesday. Brooklyn went into the Desert and beat Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns 116-112, thanks to strong performances by ex-Suns and current Nets starters Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson.

Less than 24 hours after that emotional win, Brooklyn had to play the Denver Nuggets in the snowy state of Colorado, and it went as expected. Denver beat Brooklyn 124-101 thanks to a triple double, 26 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists from 2023 NBA Finals MVP, Nikola Jokic.

Brooklyn's offense was silent in Denver

Spencer Dinwiddie was Brooklyn's leading scorer on Thursday, dropping 17 points. In the NBA in 2023, if your leading scorer scores just 17 points, you are going to have a very difficulut time winning that game. Cam Thomas scored just 13 points, Cam Johnson scored 10, and Mikal Bridges scored nine. They needed a lot more out of their three primary scorers.

Nets Injury Updates

Brian Lewis of the New York Posted reported before last night's loss that injured Nets point guard Dennis Smith Jr. (back) will not return during the ongoing West Coast road trip. That means Smith Jr. will miss at least Saturday's game in Golden State and Monday's game in Utah.

Ben Simmons remains out due to a back injury of his own, and will be re-evualted in the coming days. Lonnie Walker, who had become the Nets primary offensive option, will miss at least the rest of this road trip with a left hamstring strain, and possibly more time.

Harry Giles continues to shine

Harry Giles has not seen the floor much this year, but when he has, he has been highly productive. Giles scored 11 points in 15 minutes on Thursday.

Per 40 minutes, Giles is averaging 37.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists. He needs to see more playing time moving forward, especially with the rash of injuries in Brooklyn.

Next Up

Brooklyn will take on Golden State in San Francisco Saturday night at 8:30 ET.