Michael Porter Jr. had a sensational shooting night on his way to 31 points, Nikola Jokic notched his 22nd triple-double of the season and the Denver Nuggets held off the New York Knicks for a 113-100 win on Thursday night.
Jokic finished with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists as the reigning champion Nuggets improved to 13-2 since the All-Star break and climb within percentage points of first place in the Western Conference.
Porter was 13 of 16 from the field — including a pass to himself off the glass for a dunk — and 2 of 2 from the free-throw line. Porter also had three 3-pointers to give him 193 for the season and break Dale Ellis’ single-season team mark set in 1996-97.
Jamal Murray added 23 points before limping off the floor with just under a minute remaining after hurting his ankle. The Nuggets were highly focused for this game following a 38-point loss to the Knicks on Jan 25 at Madison Square Garden, Denver’s most lopsided loss of the season.
Denver led by 12 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Knicks trimmed it to 90-88 with 8:19 remaining. The Nuggets quickly inserted the starters and put the brakes on the comeback bid.
Jalen Brunson scored 26 points and Isaiah Hartenstein had 20 for the Knicks, whose four-game winning streak came to a halt. New York’s reserves outscored Denver’s bench by a 30-13 margin.
Donte DiVincenzo knocked down three 3-pointers to give him 219, which is the second-most for a season in Knicks history. Evan Fournier set the team record with 241 in 2021-22.
Jokic nearly had a triple-double by halftime with 16 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists. Before the game, Knicks coach Coach Tom Thibodeau heaped praise on the Serbian center. Thibodeau, along with the rest of the league, is trying to figure out whether it’s best to take away Jokic’s jumper or his court vision.
Jokic had a shot in the fourth quarter hit off the top of the backboard and go in. He also hook-shot a pass to the corner that set up Porter for 3-pointer in the third quarter.
“They play great basketball, in large part, because of the way he plays,” Thibodeau said.
OG Anunoby (right elbow), Julius Randle (right shoulder), and Mitchell Robinson (left ankle) are still out of the lineup for the injured Knicks. Prior to the game, Thibodeau stated that Anunoby is still day-to-day. When asked if he thought there wasn’t enough time left to get Randle well, Thibodeau said, “Control what you can control.” Simply never give up on it. You never know how it will change. That is the strategy we need to use.