The New York Knicks went into the Ball Arena in Denver and comfortably defeated the Denver Nuggets 145-118 to improve their record to 10-7 while the Nuggets fell to 9-7 on the season. The Knicks completely overwhelmed the Nuggets in this contest, dominating from wire to wire with one of their best offensive displays of the year.
All five Knicks starters scored in double-digits, led by OG Anunoby scoring a season-high 40 points (16-23 FG) with five rebounds and two blocks. Karl-Anthony Towns put up 30 points (12-15 FG) and 15 rebounds in another excellent showing, while Jalen Brunson had 23 points (8-14 FG) with a season-high 16 assists. Josh Hart had a perfect night with 12 points (5-5 FG) while Mikal Bridges had 14 points (6-16 FG).
The Nuggets saw a fantastic bench outing from Russell Westbrook (27 PTS, 9-16 FG) go to waste, with Nikola Jokic putting up 22 points (9-20 FG), seven rebounds, and seven assists. Michael Porter Jr. continued his strong offensive form with 18 points ()7-17 FG) and 10 rebounds and Jamal Murray scored 20 points (6-13 FG) and dished out seven assists in a night where the Nuggets' defense was the biggest culprit.
Let's take a look at how this game ended up being such a dominant showing for the Knicks.
Knicks Starting Five Looks Hard To Beat
The Knicks abandoned the path of building through depth and a cohesive team identity without star-level players over the last 12 months, surrounding the rising Jalen Brunson with stars like OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Karl-Anthony Towns. Alongside Josh Hart, who became a starter last season for the franchise, this five-man unit is showing the potential to be impossible to deal with for most teams. They're still building chemistry, but statement wins like tonight show how high their ceiling is.
The offensive production from the starting five was incredible tonight, getting 119 points from just the starters. OG Anunoby had an electric scoring night by putting up 38 points in just 31 minutes, Jalen Brunson was a playmaking maestro with his 16 assists on the night, and Towns provided the consistent scoring touch he's added to the team all season.
Hart and Bridges weren't on fire offensively but neutralized the Nuggets offense by making excellent reads to cover off open players in the Nikola Jokic-led offense. The pressure they provided kept the Nuggets uncomfortable, as they showed the former NBA Champions that their starting five-man unit might be considerably better than theirs.
Offensive Explosion Through First 3 Quarters
The Knicks scored 113 points through the first three quarters on 45-73 from the field (61.6 FG%), 15-27 from three (55.6 3P%), and 8-8 from the free throw line (100 FT%). Out of the 12 three-point misses from the Knicks as a team, six came from the poor-shooting Mikal Bridges (1-7 3P) through this period. It was an offensive bonanza for New York, scoring at will against the Nuggets while restricting their offensive output to just 87 points.
By the end of the game, the Knicks shot 56-92 from the field, 19-36 from three, and 14-16 from the free throw line.
We touched on this while discussing the starting five, but the sheer number of offensive options that the Knicks can create with their starting five is ridiculous. Karl-Anthony Towns has been excelling since joining the team while Jalen Brunson has become a more efficient scorer and playmaker over the last eight games and that has reflected in the team's results as well.
Anunoby won't have 38 points in three quarters often this season, but he had it tonight against a contending team when the team needed it the most. Similarly, we know Bridges can have a hot shooting night to eventually replicate a performance like this for the team.
With Cameron Payne and Miles McBride off the bench to be spark plugs, the Knicks have baked in a lot of offense into their roster to complement their already excellent defensive production.
Denver Has No Depth
Up until the start of the fourth quarter, the Nuggets relied on six players to provide a bulk of their production, a strategy which didn't work too well. Russell Westbrook skews Nuggets bench production statistics because of his expanded role on the team as their sixth man, but players like Hunter Tyson, Trey Alexander, and DeAndre Jordan provide next to nothing for the franchise.
Jordan, Tyson, and Alexander played just six minutes before the start of the fourth quarter. Players like Peyton Watson and Julian Stratwher have proven themselves as rotational players but their production swings wildly from game to game, also because coach Michael Malone is still trying to figure out the best way to deploy these players within the team's overall rotation.
The absence of Aaron Gordon is felt in every passing game, as the team's defense hasn't been solid enough to stop high-powered offenses like the Knicks. They barely beat a Dallas Mavericks team without Luka Doncic before beating the Los Angeles Lakers in an impressive win undercut by the fact they always beat the Lakers. Top-tier competition tests them in a way it hasn't in past seasons, which is a worry for the team.
They don't have the same quality of depth on their roster as other franchises, with today being a stark reminder to the franchise that they will struggle against teams at times this season because they can't rely on the bench to consistently produce.
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