Magnificent Jokic shines as Nuggets drop Knicks

The Denver Nuggets came into Madison Square Garden in need of a win before taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers tomorrow night and then Golden State Warriors on Monday. While the defense struggled, as usual, it was Nikola Jokic who willed the Nuggets to a victory in New York with a score of 131-123.

Many players had solid games tonight for Denver. Jameer Nelson had one of his most well-rounded games putting up 16 points on 10 shots to go with 12 assists and just two turnovers. Will Barton also contributed 15 points, 10 rebounds and four assists with two blocks as well. Overall the Nuggets had six players in double-figures and a total of 33 assists on the night. The Nuggets were humming offensively from start to finish.

The true leader of the Nuggets was who shined the brightest tonight. Jokic fluidly dismantled the Knicks defense at every turn and there was nothing that New York could have done to slow the offensive juggernaut that he created. Tonight, Jokic put up a staggering 40 points on 17-23 from the field while also nailing 2-3 shots from beyond the arc. He also added nine rebounds and five assists, a number that should have been much higher considering how many layups the Nuggets missed off of his passing, and was scoring in every way imaginable. He was taking defenders off of the dribble from beyond the three-point line, using his floater from everywhere inside the paint, was hitting threes from the top of the key, putting back missed shots, and also belittled Kristaps Porzingis every time he tried to defend Jokic in the post.

Jokic’s 40 points, nine rebounds, and five assists have only happened seven times in the history of the Denver Nuggets, five of which were done by Alex English, and Jokic is the youngest of that list to have a game of that caliber. He is also the second youngest player to ever have a 40 point game for Denver behind Anthony, who had 41 in his rookie year. To say that Jokic is becoming a primary scoring option seemed like fools-talk at the beginning of the season. At this point, it seems foolish to describe him as anything less. When the Nuggets came out of halftime down two points it was Jokic that put Denver on his back and scored 18 points in the third period to go along with three rebounds, one assist and two steals on 7-9 shooting.

Anthony made things interesting late by scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter on a perfect 8-8 from the field and 5-5 from three-point distance but Jokic and the Nuggets offense was too much to overcome. Denver escaped Madison Square Garden with a much-needed road victory over Anthony and the Knicks.

Footnotes

Jokic’s 40 points are a new career-high for him with his previous being 35 points that he put up against the San Antonio Spurs on January 19th.

Danilo Gallinari missed his fifth straight game with a groin injury and it was Wilson Chandler who started in his spot, who filled up the box score with 19 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks.

Darrell Arthur started in place of the injured Kenneth Faried and also had a good game. Arthur had 13 points, three rebounds, two assists while shooting 3-6 from three-point distance, which actually hurt his season average from three.

Emmanuel Mudiay also missed another game with a sore back but he was upgraded to doubtful at one point. Mudiay has missed eight of the past 11 games with his lower back injury.

What’s Next

Denver completes their back to back by traveling to Cleveland to take on the defending champion Cavaliers before heading back to Denver to take on the Golden State Warriors on Monday.