On January 26, Beijing time, the NBA game continued, and the defending champion Nuggets challenged the Knicks away. Prior to this game, the Nuggets were in third place in the West with 31 wins and 14 losses, and Jokic was one of the strongest contenders for MVP, and he was also selected to the Western Conference All-Star starting lineup. The Knicks are in the top 5 in the East and have little problem getting into the playoffs, and the trident combination of Brunson and Randle and Anunoby has begun to show its power. The starting lineup of the Nuggets is Murray + Pope + Gordon + Porter + Jokic, and the starting lineup of the Knicks is Brunson + DiVincenzo + Anunoby + Randle + Simms.
In the first half of the game, the defending champion Nuggets were like losing their souls, and they were not in the game at all, and they were blown up by the Knicks. In the first quarter, the Nuggets trailed 21-33, losing by 12 points in a single quarter, and their defensive performance was too poor. In the second quarter, the Nuggets were still terrible on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, scoring only 20 points in a single quarter with extremely low efficiency, while the Knicks scored 29 points. At halftime, the Nuggets were already trailing by 21 points and could suffer a heavy defeat if they didn't adjust in time.
In the second half, the Nuggets' situation still didn't improve. In the third quarter, the Nuggets were full of holes on the defensive end, and the Knicks scored 36 points in a single quarter, and won by 11 points in this quarter, and the difference has reached more than 30 points, and the final quarter has become garbage time. In the fourth quarter, the Nuggets played a few minutes and couldn't get close to the score, Malone switched to the third lineup early, and the game had 7 minutes left in garbage time.
In the end, the Nuggets lost to the Knicks 84-112, losing by 28 points, and still ranked third in the West after the end of the three-game winning streak, but the Clippers behind them are eyeing the Knicks and may overtake them at any time. The Knicks have won five in a row, and after trading for Anunoby, it looks like they have become a top team in the East, especially on the defensive end.
The Nuggets' Jokic had 31 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists, Murray scored just 9 points on 3-of-11 shooting, Gordon had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, Pope had 5 points, and Porter had 5 points and 6 rebounds. The Nuggets' main lineup is in a slump except for Mr. Joo, and it will definitely be difficult to win with such a performance. For the Nuggets, it is very difficult to compete for a championship this season, mainly because the team's sixth man, Brown, has left the team, and no one can take his place, and in the playoffs, the Nuggets may only have seven players in the rotation. The Nuggets beat tough opponents all the way to win the championship last season, and in addition to Jokic's prowess and a lot of depth on the roster, the Nuggets may be making changes with some time before the trade deadline.
The Knicks' Randle had 17 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, Brunson had 21 points and 4 assists, and Anunoby had 26 points and 6 steals. Now that the Knicks have completely transformed after the trade, they may become the big dark horses in the playoffs, and even if they meet the Celtics and Bucks, they can cause some problems for opponents.