The season’s longest road trip for the Nuggets concluded with a butt and an eye poke.
Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, Denver lost 122-84 to the Knicks, ending a three-game winning run. Denver trailed by as many as 38 points and never led. The Nuggets (31-15) have a 3-2 record after their 12-day, five-game Eastern Conference journey. Nevertheless, they’ll be a little bruised and desperate to recover when Joel Embiid and the 76ers come to Colorado on Saturday afternoon for a rematch.
With 4:01 remaining in the second quarter, Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo jabbed Nikola Jokic, who went to the locker room with a left eye ιnjury. Following the play, Jokic fell to the floor, thrashing his legs in agony, and DiVincenzo was called for a common foul.
The two-time MVP lay on the ground for a few minutes with his hands covering his face before getting to his feet, remaining in the game to attempt the free throws, then leaving. For the rest of the half, he didn’t go back to the bench, but he was allowed to come off the bench to begin the second half sporting only a red-looking eye.
Jokic had 31 points, 11 rebounds, and seven turnovers at the end of the game. With the game already decided and an afternoon tip waiting in Denver, he shot 13 for 18 and did not participate in the fourth quarter. They just didn’t have legs from the start in a blowout reminiscent of the last game of the Nuggets’ second five-game trip this season, with Jokic serving as their lone early producer. Another no-look, behind-the-back pass by Jokic set up an open dunk for Aaron Gordon, the only other Nugget to attempt a field goal until 4:28 into the first quarter.
It was already 25-10, Knicks, at that point. Jokic finished the quarter with seven rebounds and 13 points. Together, his teammates shot 3 for 15 from the field, scoring 8 points and pulling down 5 rebounds. Jokic finished the opening quarter with 14 points and eight rebounds, while the rest of the Nuggets were only 1 for 16 in that other lengthy trip finale against Houston on Black Friday.
Denver, however, was continuously falling short in both its interior and perimeter defense. Four minutes into the second quarter, the Knicks had already Һit seven of sixteen attempts from beyond the arc, for a final night total of 15 for 38. It was only in the last forty seconds of the first quarter when they failed a 2-point try. They outscored the Nuggets 22–13 on second chances and 23-5 on fast breaks, shooting 52.4% throughout the game.
After acquiring O.G. Anunoby, one of the league’s most flexible defenders, in a trade, New York is currently 11-2. When the former Toronto Raptor left the game in the fourth quarter with 26 points and an incredible six steals, fans loudly chanted his initials. With only 20 assists and 19 turnovers, the Nuggets, one of the league’s greatest assist-to-turnover teams, were severely hindered.
Thirty minutes after almost losing out on a starting position for the Eastern Conference in the forthcoming All-Star Game starting lineup announcement, Jalen Brunson scored 21 points on 7 of 10 shots.
The NBA players of today are glued to their phones, so if I told him, ‘I don’t believe he’s an NBA (All-Star) player,’ he would be even more motivated. thus in the warmup, Nuggets coach Michael Malone made a joke about his becoming an All-Star. But really, he’s a fantastic player. From the 3-point line, he may injure you. He reaches the catch-all. very cunning and shifty at pick-and-rolls. It would be difficult for me to identify players above him who deserve to be in the All-Star game.