Nuggets Fire Back at Knicks Critics: ‘All the Haters, Take Note!

Few teams in basketball have been as dominant as the Denver Nuggets have been in the last few seasons. A championship and second-round exit in the last few years how good the group has been recently.

That’s what makes what the New York Knicks did to them so stunning.

The new-look Knicks overwhelmed Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets by a 145-118 final score. New York shot over 60% from the field and over 50% from beyond the arc while seeing OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson set career highs in points and assists respectively.

Following the game, there wasn’t much left for the Nuggets to do but talk about how good the Knicks are this season – and how dangerous they will be the more they play together.

“For all the (head coach) Tom Thibodeau haters out there who say he doesn’t coach offense, you just have to really appreciate their team. Because offensively they are elite,” Mike Malone said. “I think in just about every offensive category they’re top-5. Field goal, 3-point, free throw, offensive efficiency, this team has a lot of weapons.

“They are very efficient in everything they do.”

Malone is correct. New York is one of the most efficient scoring teams in the NBA this season to start. They recorded 45 assists in the win on Monday night as well – a sign of their overall unselfish play.

Probably the more shocking piece, though, was how well New York defended Jokic. The three-time league MVP shot just 9-20 from the field and a measly 22 points.

Following the game, Jokic understood how well the Knicks played and how his team could improve from that.

“They had an amazing night, they’re really good. We didn’t make anything hard—didn’t show up tonight. It was one team today playing basketball,” Jokic said.

“It’s always good to get punched in the face just to wake up.”

If the Knicks play games both offensively and defensively like they did against Denver on Monday, there won’t be many teams who can actually keep up with them at this point.