The Joker made the Kings pay for shuffling the deck this summer.

After Sacramento traded Jonas Valanciunas to Denver for Dario Saric, the Kings were left without a body built to bang with Denver’s 6-foot-11, 284-pound jack of all basketball trades. It showed in Denver’s 130-124 win Monday at Ball Arena, though he didn’t enter the arena looking to take over.

“It just depends what happened in the game,” Nuggets center Nikola Jokic said.

When Sacramento defended straight up, Jokic went to work against the 240-pound Domantas Sabonis or the 245-pound Drew Eubanks to the tune of a season-high 34 points on 14 of 22 shooting. He made 10 of 12 shots inside the arc. He took 12 of his shots in the first quarter, which was a welcome sight.

“He had good juice. He was looking for his shot early. I thought his rhythm was really good. I thought we found him in the pocket early. We have to do that and be more consistent with it. I think early in games, if he picks and pops and that’s the coverage they have, we have to throw him the ball,” Denver coach David Adelman said. “If the coverage is him in the short roll, we have to find him early.”

Adelman’s plan of strategy is working for Jokic early in their first full season together. The only time he scored fewer than 20 points came in a lopsided win against the Suns. After starting the season with four consecutive triple-doubles, Jokic finished an assist shy Friday and three rebounds short Monday.

“I feel really comfortable in the pocket. Not just me, I think whenever a player gets inside of the paint in that area, he’s really dangerous. Everybody needs to collapse. He has many options,” Jokic said. “I like what he (Adelman) has tried to do.”

When the Kings went zone, Jokic embraced the open 3-pointers Denver’s offense created. Jokic led the Nuggets with a 4-for-10 mark from deep, dished out 14 assists, grabbed seven rebounds, recorded four steals and blocked two shots. The Nuggets won the 36 minutes he played by 18 points.

“If we can get through games without having to post him up 25 times, I think that’s beneficial for us and his body, but if the game demands it, he will, and I think he’ll go score like he needs to,” Adelman said, adding Jokic is always capable of keeping his teammates involved,” Adelman said.

“Sometimes the isolation stuff is old-school NBA, and you have to go there. He’s incredible. He’s one of the best post-up players we’ve ever seen, but I have to worry about the wear and tear of his body, too. That’s a responsibility I have. It’s kind of what the game demands, but he’s definitely going to have nights like tonight where he scores, and him scoring opens everything else for the rest of the team.”

Christian Braun (21), Aaron Gordon (20), Jamal Murray (15), Bruce Brown (13) and Cam Johnson (10) also scored in double figures for Denver.

Russell Westbrook led the Kings with 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Sabonis added 13 points and 17 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Denver’s trump card.

“You know what it is, man. It’s just efficiency like we’ve never seen, especially not dunking the ball,” Adelman said. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

NUGGETS 130, KINGS 124

What happened: The Nuggets led by as many as 12 in the first half and owned a 72-63 advantage at halftime. Denver added a couple of points to the lead in the third and held off Sacramento in the fourth to improve to 4-2.

What went right: With the Kings relying on a healthy dose of zone defense, the Nuggets started hot from 3-point range, going 6 for 12 in the first quarter. Aaron Gordon made his first two attempts.

What went wrong: The Nuggets cooled off after the first quarter. Denver was 9 of 24 at halftime, 10 of 31 after three quarters and finished 12 for 38.

Highlight of the night: Gordon shook his former teammate and knocked down his third 3-pointer in the final minutes of the second quarter. Gordon started to use a Nikola Jokic screen on the left wing before using a behind-the-back dribble to head back left and lose Russell Westbrook. Gordon made it count with a step-back 3 that put Denver up eight.

Up next: The Nuggets continue a four-game homestand against the Heat on Wednesday at Ball Arena.