Nets are in tough spot at motivated Nuggets

Just when everyone thought the Nets’ season was dead after they traded away Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant before the deadline, they have ripped off four wins in its past five games heading into a matinee Sunday against the Nuggets. Don’t be surprised if those good Nets vibes fade in the Mile High City.

The Nets deserve credit for their recent success, and no one more so than prized acquisition Mikal Bridges — who scored at least 30 points in all four of those wins and has averaged 25.8 points per game since getting shipped to Brooklyn.

Can he keep it up? The two-way star has shown it all in a new role, but he still has scored 30 points just eight times in his entire NBA career (412 games) and is three days removed from a 10-point clunker in Milwaukee. He also is averaging just 10 points on 36.4 percent shooting in two games against Denver, his second-lowest scoring mark against any team this season.

The Nuggets are in a rare spot after two lethargic losses against clearly inferior opponents. That’s bad news for the visitors: Denver is 6-2 against the spread as a home favorite after a loss, part of a larger 20-12 ATS run as home chalk this season.

Especially after their embarrassing loss Friday to the Spurs, I’d expect the Nuggets to come out firing Sunday in a game they can ill-afford to lose atop the loaded Western Conference. If Bridges doesn’t wow us with another 30-piece (or better), this could get ugly. THE PLAY: Nuggets, -8. C Jackson Cowart handicaps the NBA for Action Network.