NBA prime time on Sky Sports: Resurgent Brooklyn Nets face waning Denver Nuggets in prime time clash | NBA News

The Brooklyn Nets and the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets face off in this Sunday’s prime time slot, live on Sky Sports Arena and on Sky Sports YouTube’s free live stream from 7:30pm.

When these two teams last locked horns, the Nuggets were in good form while the Nets scrambled to put together an efficient offence.

Fast-forward to a week later, the tables have turned. It’s Michael Malone’s men who find themselves in a spot of bother whilst their opponents have won four of their fives games since.

Perhaps it’s nothing to worry about, all teams go through blips during the season. Losing three games in a row isn’t as concerning when you’re sitting atop the Western Conference with a four-game lead in the loss column.

There is a more alarming trend that warrants a mention. In all three defeats, they were out-scored by their opposition despite being ahead by quite a margin.

Not only have the Nuggets fumbled their position of dominance in these matchups, but they’ve also been unable to rely on their secondary unit for support to instigate comebacks.

So, who can lift them out of this slump? Well, the go-to man is usually Nikola Jokic. But there’s only so much the MVP contender can do, particularly when all it takes is for him to be off the floor for nine minutes before another 16 points have been scored by the opposition.

No center on the floor usually means trouble is brewing for Malone and co. They won’t want a similar situation to pan out this Sunday, but the Nets will be relishing to dish out another rollicking.

Jacque Vaughn’s team have been in the mood ever since their comeback wins over the Boston Celtics, and very few teams have been able to disempower them.

In fact, the only team to do so in their winning stretch was the Milwaukee Bucks who recently became the first team to clinch a playoff berth. That, however, did coincide with the Nets resting four of their top six guys.

When everyone’s back on the roster, the Nets are a force to reckon with. Last weekend’s decisive win over the Nuggets certainly proved that.

It was their most offensive performance to date without Kyrie Irving or Kevin Durant in the starting five (122 points on 94 possessions) and included eight of the nine guys who played racking up at least nine points.

The more impressive stat lies in their defence. Facing the league’s second-ranked offense can feel ominous, but Dorian Finney-Smith made it look easy.

With the 31-year-old manning the five, the Nets were able to keep the Nuggets to just 23 points on 24 possessions, as well as forcing Malone to make a difficult decision on when Jokic would remain on the court.

Will this second clash end differently, or will the leaders in the West face another defeat? The Nets do have a rest advantage, but it’s likely that with Jamal Murray’s absence factored in, the Nuggets will be looking to roll the dice on their attacking starters.

Find out how it all unfolds this Sunday with Sky Sports live-streaming the game on their YouTube channel.