The New York Knicks delivered an impressive performance at Ball Arena, decisively defeating the Denver Nuggets 145-118. This blow added to a recent string of disappointing results for Michael Malone’s squad, which has seen its standing in the Western Conference slip. However, following the game Nikola Jokic shared a candid reflection on the defeat.
“It’s always good to get punched in the face, just to wake up,” Jokic remarked about the Nuggets’ home loss to the Knicks. The metaphor seemed fitting, as Denver was outclassed from the opening tip, trailing 76-53 at halftime. “There’s always something to learn from games like this. We’re all asking ourselves how it got to this point.”
“They played an incredible game; they were really good, and we didn’t make anything difficult for them. It looked easy for them. They shot exceptionally well, hitting 19 three-pointers, and we just didn’t show up,” said the Serbian center, acknowledging the Knicks’ dominance.
For the Nuggets, it marked the fourth loss in their last six games, a clear sign of a dip in form after a strong start to the season. With a 9-7 record, they find themselves well outside the top tier of the Western Conference, struggling to meet the high expectations set by fans and pundits alike.
Head coach Michael Malone of the Denver Nuggets shouts to his team while playing the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first quarter at Ball Arena on October 24, 2024 in Denver, Colorado.
Jokic agrees with Malone’s criticism
The aftermath of the loss to the Knicks left a lasting impression on Denver, and coach Michael Malone sent a clear message to the Nuggets’ players, urging them to be vocal. When asked about Malone’s remarks, Jokic didn’t hesitate to agree with his coach’s assessment: “I mean, he was right.”
“We are in the games, we always down 20 at a half. I don’t know. Do we don’t warm up or do we don’t wake up, or we just don’t play hard enough? I don’t know what it is, but collectively, we need to do a better job,” said the Serbian superstar. “I mean, we were down 10 I think in LA too. We were down 20 against Dallas… Seems like we are always down and we always catching behind.”
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Slow starts plaguing the Nuggets
As Jokic highlighted, the Nuggets have struggled in the opening minutes of games recently. In five of their last six matchups, they’ve faced significant deficits in the first or second quarters, allowing their opponents to build commanding leads.
While Denver managed to rally and secure wins against the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers, they couldn’t overcome early deficits against the New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies, and most recently, the Knicks. Acknowledging the issue is the first step toward improvement, and the Nuggets appear focused on correcting their slow starts.
