The Denver Nuggets’ downtime isn’t over yet. After the streak of four defeats in a row interrupted in Detroit, the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference returns to lose on the field of the New York Knicks, who find Jalen Brunson in the best moment. It is precisely the point guard – out in five of the last six games due to injury – who takes the reins of the game at the beginning and at the end of the match, scoring 13 of his final 24 points in the first half of the game and leading his points in the final point at the point. Supporting him are the 21 points of a solid RJ Barrett and the 20 of an inaccurate Julius Randle (6/15 shooting), to which are added the 13 points from the bench of Josh Hart and the 10 of Immanuel Quickley. The Knicks shoot badly from long range (9/32 team, 28%), but hold one of the best offenses in the league to just 19 points in the final quarter, even coming from 13 lengths behind.
Coach Michael Malone had to shake his own early in the second quarter after a pair of disastrous defensive transitions and the Nuggets responded with a high-level central part of the game, but as soon as Nikola Jokic sat down for his last rest between third and fourth fourth, the guests waste all the advantage and New York takes the necessary inertia to bring the game home. The 25 points of a very good Jamal Murray and the triple-double narrowly missed by Jokic with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists are useless, in an evening in which four other players among the guests close in double figures (Gordon 14, Green 12, Brown and Porter Jr. 11).