The shorthanded Warriors took the fight to the Nuggets on Sunday in San Francisco.

Here are five takeaways from Denver’s 128-117 loss at Chase Center:

1. The days of Denver being a dominant clutch team feel like a distant memory. The Warriors led by five with five minutes to go, meeting the NBA’s definition of a clutch game. Turnovers from Christian Braun and Jamal Murray on Denver’s first two possessions of clutch time helped the Warriors expand the lead to 10 in less than a minute. Brandin Podziemski continued his big fourth quarter with a put-back layup and a 3-pointer sandwiched around a missed layup from Bruce Brown to put the game out of reach in the final few minutes. Closing with Brown and Braun gave the Warriors two players they could sag off to clog up the court and offer more help to Murray and Jokic. The Nuggets’ problems against the Warriors started well before the clutch, but a troubling trend continued. The Nuggets have a losing record in the clutch, 14-15, this season, and that’s not how championship-caliber teams operate.

2. At this rate, the Nuggets might need a little help to hold onto a top-four spot in the Western Conference over the next week. Neither Wednesday’s home game against Boston nor Friday’s game in Oklahoma City or Sunday’s game against Minnesota will be easy victories. Meanwhile, Houston plays the Jazz and Kings and home and Orlando and Miami on the road. The Lakers get the Magic at home and Suns, now without Dillon Brooks, and Warriors, without Stephen Curry, on the road. Minnesota started its game against Philadelphia on Sunday with the same number of losses as Denver and just one fewer win. The Timberwolves hit the road for games against Trail Blazers and Clippers before finishing next weekend in Denver. If the Nuggets don’t figure something out in the next week, their long-held spot in the top four will be in jeopardy to start March.

3. Draymond Green being a late scratch due to a back issue made life harder for Denver’s defense. With Green in the starting lineup, the Nuggets could’ve sagged off the veteran, daring him to shoot while clogging up the passing lanes. Instead, the Warriors used a five-out lineup featuring Al Horford. Golden State hit 15 3-pointers in the first half, with Horford going 5-6 from deep, for its highest-scoring first half of the season. It wasn’t just Green. The Warriors were also without Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Kristaps Porzingis and others, leaving Steve Kerr with nine available players. It was a rare game in the last couple of months where Denver was the healthier team, but it didn’t matter. Without Peyton Watson and Aaron Gordon, it feels like Denver’s defense is going to struggle regardless of who the opposing team has on the court.

4. It looked like Denver made a productive halftime adjustment defensively, but the third quarter was just an illusion. It’s no coincidence the Nuggets took the lead for the first time in the third quarter after Golden State went 0-13 from 3 in the third. The Warriors hit six more in the fourth to regain the lead. The 3-point shot ended up being a numbers problem for the Nuggets. Golden State finished 21 of 52 from 3-point range, while the Nuggets went 8 for 31. There were some outlying shooting performances. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jamal Murray both went 1 for 6 for Denver, while Cam Johnson (0-4) and Julian Strawther (0-3) failed to connect. Horford finished 6 of 7 for the Warriors, while Gary Payton II, shooting 32% from 3 this season, went 3 for 7.

5. On a day where there weren’t many positives, Nikola Jokic and Christian Braun continued to get back in sync offensively. Braun was on the receiving end of six of Jokic’s 12 assists. The wing got easy buckets whether it was fastbreak layups, easy buckets off cuts in the halfcourt or an uncontested corner 3. For all the attention that’s rightfully paid to Jokic and Jamal Murray’s two-man game, Braun’s understanding of playing alongside the stars provides an important wrinkle to Denver’s offense. Braun finished with 18 points on 11 shots, while Jokic led the way with 35 points and 20 rebounds. Denver shouldn’t be on the losing end of many games when Braun’s efficiently scoring alongside the big two.

WARRIORS 128, NUGGETS 117

What happened: Golden State led by 12 after the first quarter and owned a 76-67 advantage at halftime. Denver flipped the deficit into a six-point advantage at the end of the third before a disastrous fourth dropped Denver to 36-22.

What went right: The Nuggets outscored Golden State 60-46 in paint points and made 25 of 29 free throws. Golden State only attempted 12 free throws.

What went wrong: Despite being more shorthanded, the Warriors’ bench finished with 44 points to 28 from Denver’s reserves. Podziemski (18), Payton (15) and Will Ricard (11) gave Golden State three double-digit scorers off the bench, while Brown was Denver’s only reserve in double figures with 12 points.

Highlight of the night: Jokic hit Warriors big man Quinten Post with a nasty spin move for a reverse layup that gave the Nuggets a five-point lead late in the third.

Up next: The Nuggets have a couple of days off before hosting the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.