Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The Nuggets couldn’t hang with the Knicks and lost their third game in a row

The Nuggets fell apart late in New York and squandered an opportunity for a quality win. Jamal Murray carried the team on Nikola Jokić’s down night, but the defense’s failure to cover screen rolls and getting clobbered in transition outweighed his impact.  

After the game, coach Michael Malone said, “The big stat for me tonight is the turnovers. Twenty-point differential. They scored 23 points off our mistakes. We only scored three off of theirs.”

The Nuggets started in the mud because Jokić picked up two fouls 81 seconds into the game. He sat down momentarily after, and the Knicks went on 6-1 run via drive and kick and fast break attacks. Malone summoned his squad with a timeout over three minutes in, but the team was still on the ropes when play resumed as it was down 10 points by the next timeout. The biggest Nuggets killers were Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby. They scored six times at the cup in transition and the half-court.

The defense then started to percolate, and a late seven-point Murray flurry spared them the indignity of a poor start.   

The hosts followed up, dropping five of nine baskets before Jokić returned five minutes into the next frame as his team was down 43-37. He came back, making a turnaround jumper in the lane. Additionally, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. combined for seven points, and Murray made a midrange jumper. But the Knicks kept getting what they wanted on the dribble and downed three more 3-pointers. 

At halftime, the Nuggets were down 60-54. They had 28 paint points, eight on the break, eight via second chances, zero off turnovers and 16 from the bench. Jokić had four points, two rebounds and two dimes in nine minutes, his lowest time in the first half since 2020.

The Knicks had 30 paint points, eight on the break, five via second chances, 12 off turnovers and 16 from the bench. 

Then Murray detonated for 12 points at close, middle and long range. Jokić had three dimes to three teammates. And Porter plus Westbrook were the only other Nuggets to log multiple field goals in the period. 

The Knicks stayed in control because they capitalized on Denver’s turnovers for eight points, and Brunson went on an 18-digit binge. The rest of the Knicks made six of 16 shots. 

The Nuggets went down by a dozen points with nine minutes left and responded with three triples from Jokić and Gordon, plus Braun dribbled into the lane for a 12-footer. But New York delivered the fatal strikes on a cut by Josh Hart, consecutive fastbreak baskets and a power move into the paint by Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Nuggets lost 122-112. They were outscored on the break 25-18 and in the paint 60-52. They led New York in second-chance points 14-9.

Takeaways:

• Aaron Gordon returned to the starting lineup, replacing Braun. The latter was still a big impact by getting to the line and scoring twice on the dribble. Additionally, Malone said, “What you love about Christian Braun is that he’s going to do whatever you ask him to do and what’s best for the team. And right now that’s to bring him off the bench. I’m not saying that’s permanent, but that’s the decision we made for the time being, and we’re going to give it a chance to see where it goes.”

• Westbrook had a double-double before the third quarter was done. He totaled 14 points on five of 11 tries, with 14 rebounds, four assists, one block and four turnovers. Five of his rebounds were on offense.

• The Knicks attempted 45% of shots at the rim, but scored at a slightly above-average level.  On top of that, the Nuggets’ defense was shredded in the half-court, as the hosts scored 114.8 points per 100 plays, good enough for the 92nd percentile of all games played this season, per Cleaning the Glass. 

• Brunson finished with 30 points on 62.5% shooting, with four rebounds, 15 dimes, two steals, one block and two turnovers.  

• Murray had 33 points on 52% shooting, with five rebounds, six assists, one steal, one block and three turnovers. He was getting to his sweet spots easily and had burst on the dribble.

• Jokić had his worst game of the season in efficiency (40%). He was the only Nugget to play all of the second half, but he converted only three of nine attempts in the fourth quarter.