It was a night to forget for most of the Nuggets on Monday at Ball Arena.

Here are three takeaways from Denver’s 145-118 loss to the Knicks:

1. There are make-or-miss losses and effort losses, and Monday’s game was the latter. The Knicks got whatever they wanted whenever they wanted for most of the 48 minutes. The 145 points New York scored was the most Denver has allowed this season, and they came from all over. The Knicks went 19 of 36 from 3-point range and owned a 24-8 advantage in fast-break points. OG Anunoby used Denver’s lax defensive approach to drop a career-high 40 points. He needed just 23 shots to get there, while Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 points on 15 field-goal attempts. Nikola Jokic led Denver’s starters with 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Jamal Murray (20) and Michael Porter Jr. (18) added supplemental scoring for Denver’s starters.

2. Michael Malone said there will be no flushing or forgetting his team’s worst loss of the season, and that’s the right call. While it might not make sense to practice Tuesday given Wednesday’s game in Utah, a long and honest film review of what went wrong would be appropriate. No player should be excused from having their lowlights slowed down and replayed in front of the team. There should be plenty of teaching clips to mine from that game.

3. The list of positives for the Nuggets has one entry – Russell Westbrook’s fourth-quarter effort. After scoring three points in the first three quarters, Westbrook scored 24 points in the final 12 minutes. There was a stretch of the fourth quarter where Westbrook scored 22 of his team’s last 24 points. That brought the Nuggets within 17 in the final five minutes. It was far too late for any heroics, but he at least showed he cared. He finished with a team-high 27 points on 16 shots and added three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in under 26 minutes of playing time. That’s a valuable lesson for some of the younger Nuggets to learn.

KNICKS 145, NUGGETS 118

What happened: New York led by 12 after the first quarter, extended the lead to 76-53 at halftime and led by as many as 30 in the rout. Denver dropped to 9-7 on the season and 5-4 at home.

What went right: The blowout was so severe it prevented the Nuggets starters from playing their usual workload. Michael Porter Jr. played the most of any starter at 33 minutes and 37 seconds. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray both played fewer than 32 minutes.

What went wrong: Denver allowed the Knicks to find their groove early. The Knicks shot 70% from the field and 80% from 3-point range in their 36-point first quarter. Things got worse before they got better, as New York scored 40 more in the second.

Highlight of the night: Murray and Jokic ran some vintage two-man game early. It started with Murray rejecting a Jokic screen and driving to his right. Murray then wrapped a behind-the-back pass to Jokic, who hit an open 3-pointer with five minutes left in the first quarter.

Up next: The Nuggets head to Utah for Wednesday’s game against the Jazz.