Anunoby and Brunson lead the advancing Knicks to a 122–84 victory over the Nuggets.
NEW YORK (AP) — On Thursday night, the New York Knicks handed the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets their worst loss of the season, 122-84, behind 26 points from OG Anunoby and 21 from Jalen Brunson.
Quentin Grimes scored 19 points, Julius Randle scored 17, and Donte DiVincenzo scored 16. The Knicks have won 11 of 13 games and five in a row since acquiring Anunoby from Toronto.
Anunoby had six steals and went 10 for 18 from the field.
He’s growing more at ease, according to Brunson. “He had a great performance tonight. He played aggressively with the ball on both sides. That’s the original gamer that we faced off against for a while.
With three games remaining in their winning run, the Nuggets lost despite Nikola Jokic’s 31 points and 11 rebounds. Denver started a five-game journey with a loss against Philadelphia and finished 3-2.
Jokic remarked, “They were just more aggressive.” There was just really one team playing today. Today, we weren’t present.
The Nuggets’ most recent setback came on December 29 when they were defeated 119-93 by visiting Oklahoma City.
Denver coach Mike Malone stated, “I thought the road trip ended in a very disappointing way.” “You never want to experience what occurred tonight—being blown away. And we continue to battle every day.
Malone was dissatisfied with the NBA’s scheduling of his team’s homecoming. The Nuggets will host the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday afternoon after having Friday off.
“We’re grateful that the NBA gave us a matinee game on Saturday, and all of our focus right now is getting home and getting some rest tomorrow,” he joked.
With a 52.9% field goal percentage (45 of 85) and a 39.5% 3-point shooting percentage (15 of 38), New York never fell behind.
After scoring a combined 25 points amongst Brunson, DiVincenzo, and Randle, New York had a 33–21 advantage at the half. The Knicks led by double digits the remainder of the way.
Randle didn’t think of it as a signature win for New York, despite what some may say.
“It’s regular season, man. I won’t lie to you. Randle remarked, “I don’t really care.” “First and foremost, I’m glad we prevailed; you don’t want to be on the losing side. However, we’re forming the proper habits. It only matters to me in April.
With the exception of Jokic, only Aaron Gordon (12 points) scored in double figures for the Nuggets on 5 of 26 (31.2%) 3-point attempts.
