THE New York Knicks arrived in Mile High City without a few key players to face the Denver Nuggets. New York, which dominated the first meeting 122-84 in January, was looking to sweep the season series without Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson. Former Villanova stars Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo will carry the bats for the Knicks.
The in-form Nuggets started quickly behind Nikola Jokic’s all-around play and Jamal Murray’s scoring frenzy. Denver got to their bread and butter of Jokic and Murray early by splitting up the defense.
DiVincenzo’s scorching scoring from deep and Isaiah Hartenstein’s relentlessness kept the Knicks in the game. Denver led 32-30 after the end of the first 12 minutes.
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A 19-8 run by the Denver Nuggets in the final four minutes of the second quarter restored a brief New York Knicks lead. The late burst allowed the home team to maintain a 61-56 advantage heading into the halftime break. Jokic stuffed the stat sheet, falling one rebound shy of another triple-double.
Isaiah Hartenstein and Jalen Brunson combined for 27 points, nine assists and five rebounds to keep Denver in sight. Alec Burks came off the bench to give the visitors a boost on both ends of the pitch.
New York Knicks vs. Denver Nuggets Player Stats and Box Scores
New York Knicks Player Stats
Denver Nuggets Player Stats
Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic on 3 points tonight
Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo combined to make 3 of 7 3-pointers in the first half tonight. No one else on the New York Knicks scored from deep.
Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic were quite conservative shooting from behind the arc. They had a 1-for-3 clip in that range for the Denver Nuggets.
