The Knicks began their five-game road trip on a high note, coming off a four-game winning streak. However, those positive vibes quickly faded after a loss to the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. Now, New York heads to Denver to take on the Nuggets on Monday.
New York’s recent win streak had helped turn around a shaky start to the season, but their poor shooting and defensive struggles led to the loss against Utah. Despite nearly overcoming a 19-point deficit, the Knicks fell 121-106.
“We’ve been struggling on the defensive side for the whole season. When you’re not making shots and you’re not playing well defensively, that’s a recipe for disaster,” said Knicks guard/forward Josh Hart. “We’ve got to figure it out on the defensive end.”
The Knicks will need to improve quickly on defense with the high-scoring Denver Nuggets next on the schedule. The Nuggets are tied for fifth in the NBA in points per game (117.5), despite missing Aaron Gordon for three weeks and Nikola Jokic sitting out three games for the birth of his second child.
The job of containing Jokic, the three-time MVP, will likely fall to Karl-Anthony Towns, who knows Denver well from his nine seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
If New York struggles defensively against the Nuggets, they will have to find a way to make up for it with better offensive play, something that didn’t happen in the loss to Utah.
“There’s going to be nights that you don’t shoot it great,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. “What you can’t do is allow missed shots to take away from the energy that you need from your defense. You have to win games different ways.”
Denver is coming off a back-to-back weekend, which started with a disappointing loss to the Dallas Mavericks but ended with a 127-102 win against the Lakers on Saturday night. The Nuggets had blown a late lead to Dallas the night before, but bounced back with a solid victory in Los Angeles.
The win was also special for Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who passed Doug Moe for the most wins in franchise history (433). It was a much-needed victory after Denver’s close loss in the NBA Cup to the Mavericks, where they were outscored 15-7 in the final three minutes of a 123-120 loss.
Although Denver has missed Gordon, Peyton Watson has stepped up in his absence. Watson is averaging 10.0 points per game and has become a strong defensive presence in the starting lineup. He recorded three blocks in the loss to Dallas and is averaging a team-best 1.1 blocks per game.
Watson has also benefitted from playing alongside Jokic, who leads the NBA in rebounds (13.9 per game) and is second in assists (11.3 per game).
“I’m just more comfortable, more game experience. Simple as that,” said Watson. “Being able to play with one of the best players to ever pick up a basketball, he demands a lot of attention, and I get some looks at the rim in the halfcourt. In transition, it’s all about being confident, attacking the rim with conviction and just trying to get two points down every time.”
