The Nuggets are riding high, coming home after a big road win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night. Though they almost blew an 18-point second-half lead, Denver held on to win and moved to 48-21 on the season, a game back of the Thunder for first in the West, and a game up on the T-Wolves for second.
The New York Knicks come into Denver on Thursday night, one of the hottest teams in the league. They’ve won four games in a row, steadying themselves after a stretch of rough play. They’re now 41-27 and just a game back of Cleveland in the loss column for the number three seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks have been getting some incredible play out of Jalen Brunson who is averaging over 35 points per game during the winning streak, but they’ve done it without several key players in the lineup due to injuries.
First, it was starting center Mitchell Robinson who went down in early December with an ankle injury. Then, in late January, starting power forward and former All-Star Julius Randle went out of the lineup with a shoulder injury.
To make matters worse, around the same time, newly acquired starting small forward, OG Anunoby suffered an elbow injury. He was able to return in March but played in just three games before being ruled out again with elbow soreness.
The Knicks have gone 15-2 when Anunoby plays this season, but they’ve struggled to tread water without their entire starting frontcourt. They’ll have their work cut out for them in Denver against Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon.
Knicks injury report
Mitchell Robinson (ankle), Julius Randle (shoulder), and OG Anunoby (elbow) are all out for Tuesday’s game in Denver. Each one has been practicing recently and is eyeing a return in time for the playoffs, but we are getting awfully close. Either way, they will all miss the game against the Nuggets.
For the second game in a row, Denver will face a team that is missing both of its starting big men.
Nuggets injury report
For the Nuggets, Vlatko Cancar (knee) continues to be out and Zeke Nnaji is questionable with a back injury.
Betting odds
The Nuggets are favored by 8.5 points and the total is 209.5.