Basketball is a sport of runs. To defeat the 2021 NBA champions and stroll off the Madison Sq. Backyard flooring with a 2-0 file in opposition to the Denver Nuggets, the Knicks needed to stand up to a couple of of them.
However they did, and now the Knicks can name themselves the most popular workforce in basketball, extending their profitable streak to 5 video games with a 122-112 victory the Nuggets on Wednesday.
The victory required the Knicks to play considered one of their most full video games of the season — as a result of the Nuggets don’t go away. It’s a must to put them away, and the Knicks did simply that on Wednesday evening.
It’s been the fixed in every of the Knicks’ final three video games — a 143-120 victory over the Sacramento Kings, Monday’s blowout of the West’s second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, and now a second win this season in opposition to Denver.
The Knicks aren’t simply answering the bell in opposition to profitable groups the second half of the season — they’re utilizing their protection to create straightforward transition alternatives, keeping off opponents’ alternatives to go on an prolonged run.
Possibly it’s resilience.
The Knicks have lots of it. So do their opponents by a gauntlet of a schedule by the rest of the common season.
If the Nuggets have been the type of workforce that laid down, Wednesday’s sport would have been over within the first quarter, after the Knicks jumped out to an 18-6 lead 5 minutes into the opening interval.
However the Nuggets tied the sport with 8:41 to go within the second. They did so largely with out Nikola Jokic, the potential soon-to-be four-time league Most Worthwhile Participant who picked up two fouls within the first two minutes of the sport.
With him on the bench, Denver turned to star guard Jamal Murray, who torched the Knicks protection for 33 factors on 13-of-25 taking pictures from the sector.
Jokic completed with 17 factors, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in 33 minutes however did most of his harm from downtown, the place he shot 3-of-7 behind the arc.
“Where do you wanna start? Just everything. He’s a 7-footer with great touch, an unbelievable passer. Great understanding of the game, thinks on his feet. Makes them play fast,” head coach Tom Thibodeau mentioned of Denver’s MVP forward of tipoff on Wednesday. “There’s no holes in his game, really. The ability to make everyone around him a lot better, as well. And he plays to win.”
The Knicks prolonged their lead again out to 9 with 3:45 within the second quarter, however the Nuggets roared again within the second half, taking an eight-point lead of their very own with 7:11 left within the third quarter.
Thibodeau knew the problem all alongside. The Nuggets are the No. 4 seed within the Western Convention and are among the many threats to punch their ticket to the NBA Finals out West not solely due to Jokic’s particular person greatness, however as a result of it is a workforce that doesn’t take possessions off. They make the most of even the slightest mishaps, however the Knicks stored them to a minimal, turning the ball over simply 5 occasions to 14 giveaways for Denver.
“Just be consistent. You have to play all 48 minutes against them. I think every aspect of your defense will be tested,” Thibodeau mentioned forward of tipoff. “There are times where you defend them perfectly and they’re still going to make. And that’s the mental part of it — to keep coming back time after time, and then offensively you have to execute.”
Jalen Brunson completed with 30 factors and 15 assists, and OG Anunoby scored 23 factors and hit 5 3s for the second time this season in opposition to the Nuggets.
Anunoby is averaging 22.5 factors over his final 4 video games.
“Just stepping into my shots with confidence,” he mentioned after the sport. “[And] my teammates trusting me and finding me when I’m open.”
The Knicks at the moment are 3-0 in opposition to Western Convention opponents stopping by Madison Sq. Backyard to begin this mid-January stretch.
Subsequent up, they host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday earlier than a Monday showdown with the No. 3-seeded Houston Rockets.
