The Denver Nuggets are reeling from a devastating 142-103 loss to the New York Knicks on Friday, and the consensus from the team after the defeat was that there was a lack of fight displayed on the court. 

Effort means everything in basketball. Every possession carries a chance for either team to grab an advantage, whether that be getting a crucial stop or kicking off a scoring run that can turn the tied of a game. 

Each possession also has a number of opportunities that can show off the level of fight in a team, or lack thereof. The latter was the case for the Nuggets against the Knicks, where they were out-rebounded by 19 and out-stolen by five.

"That's when you have to be better on the loose balls and create extra possessions for yourself, especially when Mal [Jamal Murray] goes down. We didn't have enough fight tonight," Christian Braun said (via Nuggets). 

The end score would have been bad enough, but the Nuggets had to endure the loss of star Jamal Murray, who left the game early due to an ankle injury.

Losing a star player like that midway through the game can go one of two ways. One, in galvanizes a team's spirt and they find a new gear and way to win or two, it stops their momentum in it's tracks. The latter option is what seems to have happened to the Nuggets on Friday. 

Effort isn't something that the Nuggets have lacked much this season and the team is certainly hoping that Friday's loss was a one-incident. Nikola Jokic remarked after the game that it was the first time in a long time that he'd seen his team "quit" before correcting himself and saying that the Knicks simply had more energy.

There's still time left in the season for the Nuggets to turn their ship around, though the season is fading fast. The Nuggets are in the thick of a playoff race as they fight to maintain their playoff position, and if there was ever a team this season to find their fight, it would be now. 

The Knicks are at least another talented team. While it's never ideal to have a complete blowup the way that the Nuggets had, suffering it against a top-tier team means it's not a reason to sound the alarm bells quite yet. 

Still, Friday's defeat is not something the Nuggets ever want to repeat and if nothing else, the keen awareness of went wrong from so many players after the game is a good sign that it won't happen again.