The Denver Nuggets were unable to win their eighth game in a row, ultimately dropping a game against the Chicago Bulls, 130-127, on Nov. 17. 

Even with a triple-double from three-time MVP Nikola Jokić (36 points, 18 rebounds, 13 assists), Denver still came up short against its Eastern Conference opponent, which had lost five straight games heading into the two teams’ matchup. 

Nuggets head coach David Adelman chalked a lot of the loss up to poor defense on Denver’s part. 

“The pick-and-pop killed us,” Adelman said during the postgame press conference. “We just were late on rotations, we tried different things with it. To [the Bulls’] credit, they just kept going back there.”

Adelman also said the Nuggets did not capitalize on their transition chances. 

“The defense is one thing,” Adelman said. “You can’t go 3-for-13 on fast-break opportunities, in a game where that team plays up beat and fast. They give you all these chances. 14 points, not enough in the fast break category for what we could have had. We were just really sloppy on the break.”

For much of the season so far, defense hasn’t appeared to be an issue for the Nuggets, nor has capitalizing on offensive opportunities. 

Through 13 games, the Nuggets are 10-3 and hold the second-best standing in the Western Conference. Up until this game, which was ultimately only lost by three points, Denver had been rolling.

One positive takeaway from the game for the Nuggets, other than Jokić’s continued domination, was the performance from forward Cameron Johnson, who had not shot the ball well heading into play. 

For a player who averaged 18.8 points per game last season with the Brooklyn Nets, it’s been a bit of a slow burn for Johnson in terms of returning to his typical prowess on the offensive end. He is averaging just 8.2 points per game through the 11 games he’s played in this season. 

But against the Bulls, Johnson found his stroke, scoring 19 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field and 5-for-7 shooting from 3-point range. 

“[Johnson] took the same shots that everyone’s been saying, ‘what’s going on with Cam?’” Adelman said. “It’s like, well, it’s going to happen. Cam’s going to make shots. That’s the bottom line. That’s how we’ve been patient with this. It was really good to see. There’s always silver linings in these games as you work your way through a really long season.” 

The Nuggets will hope Johnson’s strong outing opened up the floodgates for him to return to the shooter he was in Brooklyn. 

Denver’s next game is against the New Orleans Pelicans at 8 p.m. EST on Nov. 19.