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Key Takeaways: Knicks vs. Nuggets

By Blake Holmes

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 30: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets reacts prior to taking on the New York Knicks during their game at Madison Square Garden on October 30, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 30: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets reacts prior to taking on the New York Knicks during their game at Madison Square Garden on October 30, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 30: Wilson Chandler #21 of the Denver Nuggets drives down the court against Damyean Dotson #21 of the New York Knicks in the third quarter during their game at Madison Square Garden on October 30, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 30: Wilson Chandler #21 of the Denver Nuggets drives down the court against Damyean Dotson #21 of the New York Knicks in the third quarter during their game at Madison Square Garden on October 30, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

The Nuggets lost a close game to the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden Monday night.

The Knicks have been on a decent tear as of late, defeating the Nuggets and Cavaliers in the Q recently. This game was a battle between young interesting big men, Kristaps Porzingis and Nikola Jokic. This battle was won by Porzingis, as he had the better game and the win, but it is worth noting that the Nuggets were on the last game of a four-game road-stand.

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Just because Porzingis won this battle doesn’t mean Jokic didn’t play well. He actually ended up with 28 points and eight rebounds, while shooting 9/15 from the field. The most astonishing thing about the match-up was Porzingis going for 38 points, seven rebounds and shooting 14-28. Another funny thing about this stat-line is that he actually had a +/- of 0. So he had no impact on the scoreboard about the Knicks.

Paul Millsap struggled with his shooting in this game, going 2/13 from the field. In order to make the playoffs or crawl out of this slump they have been in, that can’t happen.

Jamal Murray had another good game, finishing with 20 points and shooting for 50 percent. Due to these last couple games, I think Murray has solidified his starting job. Speaking of point guards, Emmanuel Mudiay didn’t play too bad last night either, with 15 points, including 3/3 from deep.

This Nuggets team has to figure out this slump soon, because they can’t afford to lose games like this. Denver even had a 27-2 run to get back into this game, that they lost by five. Sure, that shows resiliency, but a team has to play better basketball than that in the Western Conference.

Next: Nuggets at Knicks recap

The Nuggets travel back to Denver to take on the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.

Box Score: ESPN

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