The ball was moving with crispness and efficiency rarely executed by a Knicks squad dating back from the franchise’s first game 78 years ago to this month. When Monday night’s game versus the Denver Nuggets was over, the Knicks’ 145-118 rout of the 2023 NBA champions on the road was more than a historic game for the franchise. It was a window into what they could be and a promising display of the breadth of the offensive skill that permeates the roster.
Early in his eighth season, forward OG Anunoby had the best scoring output of his professional career, dropping 40 for the first time. Point guard Jalen Brunson was the catalyst for the Knicks equaling their all-time single game assists mark, set on Nov. 24, 1979, handing out 45 helpers as a group, led by his personal NBA high of 17. Anunoby and Brunson, who also had 23 points, could have overshadowed Karl-Anthony Towns if the center’s showing weren’t so brilliant.
Towns thoroughly outplayed his counterpart, the Nuggets’ three-time and reigning league MVP Nikola Jokic, who is in the midst of another MVP-award-worthy campaign. Towns’s eye-popping stat line read 30 points on 12-15 shooting and 15 rebounds in 34 minutes, while Jokic registered 22 points and seven boards in 32 minutes. In all, the Knicks had seven players score in double figures and shot a blistering 60.9%, including a scorching 52.8% (19-36) on 3-point attempts.
Their evening was both ironic and urgent, coming off a lackluster stand against the Utah Jazz the day before, losing 121-106 to a team that was 3-12 and had lost five of their previous six games before being given a lifeline. The Knicks were in Dallas last night to play the Mavericks, looking to improve on a 10-7 record. They are in the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference and will end their four-game road trip tomorrow versus the Charlotte Hornets and the electrifying LaMelo Ball, who scored 50 points on Saturday in a 125-119 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks and 44 on Monday as the Hornets fell 95-84 to the Orlando Magic.
Ball will be a test for the Knicks’ inconsistent and broken defense. Under head coach Tom Thibodeau, who has been at the helm since the 2020-2021 season, the Knicks have become one of the best defensive teams in the league over a four-year aggregate. Now in his fifth season guiding the club, Thibodeau has been without center Mitch Robinson (left ankle surgery in May) and forward Precious Achiuwa (left hamstring strain in the preseason). Robinson is one of the best defenders in the league and Achiuwa is a versatile shield who can switch on the perimeter and protect the lane.
The Knicks went into last night’s game ranked 14th in defense, allowing 114 points per 100 possessions. They will return home on Sunday after a four-game road trip to host the New Orleans Pelicans, followed by the Orlando Magic on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden and the Hornets on Thursday at MSG.