The next week of the Nuggets’ schedule is going to make the NBA’s “Rivalry Week” feel like child’s play.

Denver’s headed into “Beef Week.” Playing the Thunder in Oklahoma City, the Rockets in Denver, the Spurs in San Antonio and the Lakers in Los Angeles features a whole lot more bad blood than the NBA’s scheduling gimmick in January that, for some reason, featured a matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Nuggets enter a pivotal week 39-25, a record that has them within a game of the No. 3 seed, but only a half game ahead of the Lakers in sixth place after Denver’s disappointing effort Friday against the Knicks.

“It was just a disappointing night, not who we’ve been all year,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said after Friday’s loss. “We have to understand the challenges that are coming will be tough, but I have great faith the guys will bounce back. They’ll understand what they have to do better as a team, and I think we’ll shoot the ball a lot better in OKC.”

Here’s a look at those challenges:

Monday at Thunder

This one doesn’t need much of an explanation.

“You play the Thunder in a couple of days, so you don’t really have an option,” Nuggets guard Christian Braun said of moving on after the Knicks loss. “We know what the game was there the last time we were there.”

While there was mutual respect for most of last year’s second-round playoff series, the Nuggets and Thunder weren’t exactly fond of each other over their seven-game battle. The Most Valuable Player debate between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, in which each each fan base accused the other team’s star of being an unethical flopper, added another layer to the drama.

Things are even testier after Lu Dort’s Flagrant 2 foul and ejection, and Jokic’s ensuing scuffle with Jaylin Williams at Paycom Center on Feb. 27. The Thunder wing has since acknowledged he crossed the line by bumping Jokic to the ground when he didn’t have the ball or expect contact. That didn’t mean much to Denver coach David Adelman, reserve center Jonas Valanciunas or Bruce Brown when they spoke on the subject at Wednesday’s practice.

Jokic hasn’t had much to say since calling it an “unnecessary” play from Dort and a “necessary” reaction. Jokic hasn’t been that heated since 2021. There was the Markieff Morris incident in where Jokic barreled through the then-Heat forward’s back and an ejection against the Suns in Game 4 of Phoenix’s playoff sweep.

This feels different, though. The Nuggets and Heat don’t have the history Denver shares with the Thunder, and there was more time for emotions to cool down before the Nuggets and Suns met again in the 2021-22 regular season.

Jokic is going to hear boos when he’s warming up, when he’s introduced as a member of Denver’s starting lineup and whenever he touches the ball.

That means “Beef Week” is starting with a bang.

Wednesday vs. Rockets

Speaking of crossing the line, Kevin Durant admitted to doing just that the last time Houston was in town.

Brown claimed Durant, a former teammate in Brooklyn, crossed the line. Durant didn’t deny that.

“I definitely wanted to cross the line tonight,” Durant told a group of reporters after the Dec. 20 game at Ball Arena.

“Some people can talk and play. Some people can’t. I had to learn how to talk and play as a player. I think Bruce is probably learning the same thing.”

Time might’ve reduced tension, but the Rockets started Sunday a game ahead of Denver in third place, although the Nuggets won two of the previous three meetings in the regular season. If the Nuggets can beat the Rockets at home on Wednesday, they will secure the head-to-head tiebreaker. The last two spots in the top four are going to be tightly contested down the stretch. With teams battling for home-court advantage, it shouldn’t take much for things to get contentious.

Jokic also seems to enjoy showing people the difference between his game and that of Alperen Sengun, a common comparison when it comes to style of play. The three-time Most Valuable Player had a 39-point triple-double against the Rockets earlier this season.

Thursday at Spurs

There aren’t many ball-knowers who would compare Jokic’s game to that of Victor Wembanyama, but San Antonio’s big man is coming for the Joker’s throne as the best in the league, if not the best player in the world.

San Antonio has a better shot of surpassing the Thunder for the West’s best record than it does surrendering the No. 2 seed to the Timberwolves, Rockets, Nuggets or Lakers.

Even though the biggest beef between Wembanyama and Jokic is their approach to the All-Star Game – Wembanyama has vowed to make it competitive, while Jokic still couldn’t care less – San Antonio has won four of the last five against Denver.

A win in San Antonio would boost Denver’s belief they can still be a contender come playoff time, and beating the Nuggets for the fifth time in the last six matchups would serve as a valuable confidence boost for a young Spurs core that lacks playoff experience. San Antonio hasn’t played in the playoffs since a seven-game loss to the Nuggets in 2019.

That’s going to change this year, and few would be surprised if the Nuggets or Spurs meet again this postseason.

Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun missed the first meeting between them this season, a three-point Spurs win that effectively knocked Denver out of the NBA Cup. The two teams play three more times in the next month, including the last day of the regular season when both teams could be playing for seeding.

“You’ve got to stay even-keeled in this league,” Gordon said after returning to the lineup. “We know what’s at hand. We know what’s at stake, and we know what our goals are. We see the big picture.”

Saturday at Lakers

A good, old-fashioned rivalry concludes a meaty week.

The Nuggets and Lakers first met in the playoffs in 1979. Denver didn’t beat the Lakers in a postseason series until a sweep in the 2023 Western Conference Finals. That history includes preventing the Nuggets from reaching the Finals for what would’ve been the first time in 1985, 2009 and 2020.

Even though Denver’s won eight of the last nine playoff games, the Lakers still own a 26-16 record against the Nuggets in the postseason.

This one won’t be a playoff game by definition, but it’s another matchup with a team Denver is battling for playoff position. The Lakers and Nuggets split their first two games this season, so the tiebreaker will be up for grabs at the end of the week. Another playoff series is possible, but what’s certain is the Nuggets will learn a lot about who they are next week.

“Whenever you win or lose, I think you can learn from the game and get better,” Jokic said. “We’re going to do that. We’re going to see how we’re going to respond.”