DENVER – The Denver Nuggets didn’t start the season well.

After losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in their season opener on Thursday, the Nuggets looked to bounce back on Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers. The game went back and forth, but the Clippers won 109-104. The Nuggets are now 0-2 to start the season and will begin a three-game road trip in Toronto on Monday.

The Nuggets, who lost a total of eight home games last season, have already lost 25% of that number. They dug themselves a hole in the first 25 minutes of the game, but almost fought their way back to win.

“It’s not the beginning we wanted, but it’s our reality,” said Michael Malone. “So embrace it and let’s try to hit the road, find our rhythm and somehow get that (bad) taste out of our mouth.”

Nikola Jokic hits a career-high three and takes the lead

Everyone knew the Nuggets would have to shoot the ball better and create more space on the floor in Game 2 than they did on opening night. Jokic, who was doubled up for most of Thursday, created his own space on Saturday,

“I know everyone says, ‘Take shots!’ But I’ve felt before that our spacing has been terrible at times,” Malone said.

Joker took the lead in this game, hitting a career-best seven three-pointers and finishing the game with 41 points. He hit seven of his seven shots from distance. When the Clippers relented and expected more poor Nuggets margins, Jokic took full advantage. His Herculean effort simply wasn’t supported by enough teammates.

Although the spacing was undoubtedly better in the second half against Los Angeles, his teammates still struggled to hit threes. Michael Porter Jr. missed all six of his shots from distance. Jokic’s seven triples were matched by the rest of his teammates, who combined to knock down seven. So taking over Jokic was absolutely necessary.

Jokic actually missed a pressure cooker free throw that would have changed the outcome of the contest, and then he desperately missed a deep ball to end the afternoon. Nobody will blame Jokic, but his unreal effort was in vain.

Nuggets can’t stop Powell

The Nuggets had a chance early in the fourth quarter. At the end of the fourth quarter, one thing was clear: They couldn’t stop Norman Powell. He finished the game with 37 points, but most of the damage came when the Nuggets tried to close out the game.

The Nuggets took the lead in the fourth period, but their lead quickly faded as Powell kept making shots. Malone eventually made adjustments defensively as Powell started to get hot. The fact is that Denver was missing its fireman from the last two seasons in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. In Game 1 they missed KCP’s shots, but in Game 2 they were without his nasty perimeter defense. When Malone finally shifted Christian Braun to Powell, James Harden was able to prevail over Aaron Gordon, who was having problems with Powell. In years past, Braun and KCP might come into play at the same time to slow the momentum, but Denver no longer has that option. Very late, Malone went to Russell Westbrook to defend, but that didn’t help.

“If a guy is considered a breakaway, we can’t let him continue to shoot threes,” Malone said. “It’s up to me to make sure we do something to get the ball out of his hands. I have to do a better job.

Malone was brutally honest after the game.

“Obviously Norman Powell just kicked our butt in the fourth period. 22 points.” Malone said.

Rusty Russell Westbrook?

Nuggets Nation was part excited, part hesitant when the team added veteran Westbrook this offseason. The former MVP used to be an electric player who regularly posted triple-doubles. Now Westbrook is on his sixth team in six years. The Nuggets need to figure out what they can get from their backup point guard at this point in their career, and Malone will need to try to utilize him in the best possible way.

Malone emphasized that the team will be creative in using Westbrook.

“It’s not going to be the Russell Westbrook show… but I still want Russell to be Russell,” Malone said.

Against the Clippers, the Russell Westbrook show may have been what cost Denver. In the narrow loss, Westbrook missed all eight of his shots and was a team-worst -13. This is exactly what he did on opening night.

At this point in his career, there is simply no change for Westbrook. He will be wild on the field. I can imagine that it will be something really wonderful when he is “on”. However, he was “off” in the opening game and that didn’t change on Saturday. And there is evidence that he has been in big places for his teams in recent years.

Too often Westbrook attacks the basket haphazardly. He used to manage to finish with the best – and often even over the edge. Now, at age 35, Westbrook rushes to the basket, leaves his feet and has no idea what to do with the ball.

At this point, it’s unfair to assume that Westbrook will be anything other than who he is. Westbrook is loved by his teammates and is constantly on the move. However, his outside shooting, free throw shooting and finishing leave a lot to be desired at this point in his career.

Follow @CecilLammey