Cleveland rocked the Nuggets from 3-point range and rolled to its league-leading 20th win of the season.

Here are three takeaways from Denver’s 126-114 loss Thursday in Cleveland.

1. In a game that was decided by a dozen points, Cleveland outscored the Nuggets by 48 from 3-point range. The Cavaliers scored 27 points off 3-pointers in the first quarter alone, going 9 for 15 in the opening 12 minutes. Denver missed all three of its 3s in the first quarter. Cleveland hit three more 3s before Michael Porter Jr. hit Denver’s first triple late in the second quarter. Donovan Mitchell went 6 for 10 and led the Cavaliers with 28 points, while Caris LeVert went 5 of 6 from distance in Cleveland’s 22-for-48 showing. Porter Jr., who finished with an impressive 24 points, seven rebounds, four steals, two blocks and two assists, was the only Nugget to hit multiple 3s, finishing 3 for 6. The rest of the Nuggets combined to go 3 for 18. There are nights where shots aren’t going to fall, but Denver’s defensive discipline against the NBA’s best 3-point shooting team wasn’t close to where it needed to be to hand Cleveland its fourth loss.

2. Nikola Jokic shouldn’t be in much of a mood to celebrate his 139th career triple-double. First, he’s never been into individual achievements, which is especially true after a loss. More importantly, Jokic left a handful of points on the table via uncharacteristic misses in the pivotal third quarter, when he went 2 for 7 from the field. He finished 13 of 26 from the field and missed all three of his 3-point attempts, one of which was a half-court heave. He managed to move past Magic Johnson into sole possession for third on the NBA’s career triple-doubles list with 20 rebounds and 11 assists. Jokic said earlier this season that impressive stat lines don’t necessarily equal great performance. Thursday’s inefficiency, at least by his standards, left a little bit to be desired from the game’s best player.

3. Though Jokic missed some easy ones, he’s hardly to blame for the loss. The Nuggets have to ask way too much from Jokic and Aaron Gordon this early in the season. In his third game back from a calf strain, the type of injury the Nuggets want to be cautious about, Gordon had to play 34 minutes with a chunk of that time spent serving as Jokic’s backup. Zeke Nnaji’s shot to be back-up center lasted all of 2 minutes and 45 seconds in Cleveland, and he did not record a statistical contribution outside of a foul that sent Evan Mobley to the line. The Nuggets lost those minutes by four points before Nuggets coach Michael Malone went to Gordon the rest of the way. Gordon’s physicality helped change the game in the second quarter. He finished with 18 points on 13 shots to go with seven rebounds, but that’s not a sustainable option over the final 62 regular-season games if the Nuggets’ frontcourt is going to have enough energy for the most important part of the season. Nnaji ($8.9 million) and Dario Saric ($5.2 million) are the Nuggets’ fourth- and fifth-highest paid players, and the Nuggets are going to need more production from them to have any chance of contending this season. Look for Saric or DeAndre Jordan, neither of whom played Thursday, to get a chance in the next couple of games.

CAVALIERS 126, NUGGETS 114

What happened: Denver trailed by 10 after the first quarter but cut the deficit to 66-62 at halftime. Cleveland caught fire again in the third and extended the lead back to 15. The Nuggets closed within 10 in the final minutes but dropped to 11-9 on the season, while the Cavaliers moved to a league-best 20-3.

What went right: Christian Braun extended his streak of scoring in double-figures in all 20 of Denver’s games this season with a couple of free throws in the final two minutes. Braun has been consistently efficient to start the season, but he missed all three of his 3s Thursday and finished 4 of 10 from the field.

What went wrong: Cleveland finished with a 43-16 advantage in bench points. Russell Westbrook scored 10 of Denver’s bench points, while Peyton Watson (4), Julian Strawther (2) and Nnaji combined for the other six. LeVert outscored Denver’s bench on his own with 21 points on 11 field-goal attempts.

Highlight of the night: The first of Westbrook’s three assists was a beauty. Westbrook threaded a pass between LeVert and Jarrett Allen to a rolling Jokic for a two-handed dunk.

Up next: Denver’s three-game road trip continues Saturday in Washington.