After putting on a show, the Denver Nuggets left the New York Knicks in the dust as they cruised to victory. In a classic feel-good game where seemingly every member contributed, tonight served as an excellent morale booster for the young team as they beatdown the Carmelo Anthony and Co. 110-94.
THE RUNDOWN
First Quarter – Starters: Emmanuel Mudiay, Gary Harris, JaKarr Sampson, Kenneth Faried, Nikola Jokic
The Nuggets were running on all cylinders and it was Mudiay who powered them like a VTEC engine. The rookie was running the show, directing traffic and driving into the paint with reckless abandon.
It’s been said again-and-again how Mudiay’s success would hinge on his aggression when driving and it’s clear that he’s heard the message loud and clear:
As expected, the showdown between Kristaps Porzingis and Nikola Jokic has been must-see television.
Although they play different positions, the two found themselves matched up against each other often, with the Nuggets big man overcoming Porzingis’ athleticism with pure savvy. Jokic turned in a career-high in shot attempts, going 9-20 from the field; breaking his previous mark of 10-19 against the Spurs back on Dec. 26th.
Watch as Jokic leaves Porzingis dazed and confused with the sweet up-and-under in the post:
Stat of the quarter: 11 rebounds to the Knicks’ 7 lead to 25 field goal attempts compared to their 19. The Nuggets were fighting hard on the boards and it showed in the score.
End of first: Nuggets up 31-25.
Second Quarter – Starters: D.J. Augustin, Will Barton, Axel Toupane, Darrell Arthur, Joffrey Lauvergne
The second quarter was an absolute highlight factory for Denver as they ran the Knicks ragged with excellent defense and aggressive transition offense.
Carmelo in particular was stripped of the ball on back to back plays, both leading to an easy basket.
Not only were the guards leading transition but Jokic got in on the action too. Here he is displaying his rare skill-set on the fast-break with a gorgeous no-look feed to Faried:
Stat of the quarter: Denver shot 60 percent from beyond the arc while the Knicks missed both their attempts. Denver also had zero turnovers compared to New York’s sloppy four for the quarter.
End of second: Nuggets up 60-49.
Third Quarter – Starters: Mudiay, Harris, Sampson, Faried, Jokic
The Nuggets came out lethargic and immediately gave up a 7-0 run. Fortunately Malone called a timeout which lead to Denver’s very own 5-0 run, regaining momentum once again.
Billed as the single biggest barrier to his success, Mudiay’s jumpshot has continued to look better and better as the season progresses. No longer is there any hesitation in his shot, both mentally and physically:
Axel Toupane scored his first NBA basket to balloon the Nuggets lead up to 14 on an easy dunk in transition.
Stat of the quarter: Once again the Nuggets take care of the ball and commit zero turnovers while the Knicks coughed it up three times in the third.
End of third: Nuggets up 82-68.
Fourth Quarter – Starters: Augustin, Barton, Toupane, Lauvergne, Jokic
The fourth quarter was just dress rehearsal as the Nuggets waltzed their way to victory. Leading the dance was the Nuggets’ Mr. Fourth Quarter, D.J. Augustin, as he did what he always does making play after play in crunch-time.
Here he is leaving Langston Galloway in the dust with a series of sweet moves and the nice finger roll finish:
He followed up that act with this absolutely cunning And-1 by getting Galloway on his back:
The Nuggets didn’t let the Knicks fade into the night so easily. Mudiay decided he would rub salt in the wound with a dunk to cap off a great night:
While Faried gobbled up an offensive board and converted on the And-1 to give him his sixth double-double in seven games:
Stat of the quarter: The Nuggets go 1-7 from beyond the arc, a stat that would be concerning were this a closer game. Still, Michael Malone shouldn’t want his team getting into the habit of complacency and should look to address the shot selection of a non-shooting team falling in love with too many threes.
Final: Nuggets win 110-94.
WHERE/WHEN
Pepsi Center — Denver, CO | March 8th | Regular Season Game 64 (26-38)
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
The second quarter is when the game turned from “advantage Nuggets” to “clowning on the Knicks.”
Denver did whatever they wanted to do against the inept Knicks defense as Mudiay manipulated them at will.
Here he is snaking through defenders on the pick-and-roll before throwing up a gorgeous lob to Faried:
Denver was firing from all angles and when everything seemed to click, the offense looked downright stoppable.
Here’s Augustin toying with the defense with his ball handling before dishing a sweet dime to Faried for the easy basket:
PLAYS OF THE GAME
Jokic with a gorgeous lob for a Harris And-1:
They’ve ran this play numerous times this year and it has evolved from just a normal pass into the lob play we see today.
Here Barton is finding Faried for a VICIOUS Manimal slam:
Harris turning on the JETS and then checking his hand to see if he burned himself:
Faried with a GREAT strip leading to an awesome Nuggets fastbreak:
The ever-growing chemistry between the young players is a sight to behold and should make every fan feel ecstatic about the future.
BY THE NUMBERS
Nuggets box score from NBA.com.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Nuggets will stay in Denver and get ready to face a Suns team that has been struggling mightily. Tip off is on Thursday, March 10th at 7:00 p.m. MT.
