The Nuggets have already accomplished their No. 1 goal this season: to make the playoffs. And with a postseason berth in their back pocket, Denver is barrelling down at another one of the objectives that it took aim at in the preseason.
The Nuggets topped the Knicks Friday 111-93, moving to 49-22 on the season and into a tie with the Warriors for the top spot in the West. Denver also pushed its record away from Pepsi Center to 19-16, just three wins away from the goal of 22 road wins that the Nuggets outlined prior to the season as a mark they wished to reach.
Denver had its way with a New York team, which came into tonight’s matchup with the worst record in the NBA. The Nuggets outscored Knicks 37-18 in the first, but Denver shot only 6-25 from the field in the second quarter as New York trimmed its lead to 14 at halftime. The Knicks cut the Nuggets’ lead to eight midway through the third, but Denver soon pushed its lead back to double-digits and cruised past New York just 24 hours after disposing of the Wizards.
The Nuggets are now a league-best 9-1 on the second night of back-to-backs.
Nikola Jokic led the way for the Nuggets, finishing with 21 points, 17 rebounds and five assists. Jokic was able to rest the entire fourth quarter. Gary Harris added 14 points, four rebounds and five assists. Jamal Murray tallied 18 points, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter, to go with five rebounds and five assists. Will Barton chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds.
Mason Plumlee (11 points and nine rebounds) and Monte Morris (13 points on 5-7 shooting) had outstanding nights off the Nuggets’ bench.
Denver outrebounded New York 62-45. The Nuggets also grabbed 17 offensive rebounds.
Overall, the Nuggets shot just 25-58 (38 percent) from two-point range but still managed to win their sixth-straight game.
How did the Nuggets arrive at the number 22 when setting a goal of how many victories they wanted to shoot for away from Pepsi Center this season? Twenty-two was the average number of wins that the eight Western Conference playoff teams had last season.
The Nuggets only won 15 games away from home a year ago, a mark which would have been the second-lowest among Western Conference playoff teams (San Antonio). Fifteen road wins were also tied for the sixth-fewest victories away from home out of the 15 Western Conference teams last season.
Next up on the Nuggets’ checklist? Homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Denver has a magic number of four to guarantee a top-4 seed in the West.
