On Thursday night, the New York Knicks defeated the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets, 122-84, with OG Anunoby scoring 26 points and Jalen Brunson adding 21.
Quentin Grimes scored 19 points, Julius Randle 17, and Donte DiVincenzo 16 for the Knicks, who have won five straight and 11 of 13 since acquiring Anunoby from Toronto.
Anunoby went 10 for 18 from the field and had six steals.
“He’s getting more and more comfortable,” Brunson added. “He performed exceptionally well tonight. He played aggressively on both sides of the ball. That’s the OG we got; that’s the OG we’ve been playing against for a while.”
Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 31 points and 11 rebounds as their three-game winning streak came to an end. Denver finished 3-2 on a five-game journey that began with a setback in Philadelphia.
“They were just more aggressive,” Jokic explained. “Today, there is virtually one team on the court. “We were not present today.”
The Nuggets’ previous worst defeat was 119-93 to visiting Oklahoma City on December 29.
“I thought it was a very disappointing ending to the road trip,” Denver coach Mike Malone said. “You never want to be blown out, which is exactly what occurred tonight. And we survive to fight another day.”
Malone was dissatisfied with how the NBA set up his team’s schedule for its return home. The Nuggets are off on Friday and will host the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday afternoon.
“All of our focus right now is getting home, getting some rest tomorrow, and thankful that the NBA gave us a matinee game on Saturday,” he said with a laugh.
New York never trailed, shooting 52.9% (45 of 85) from the field and 39.5% (15 of 38) from the three-point line.
Brunson, DiVincenzo, and Randle set the tone by combining for 25 points at the end of the first quarter, helping New York lead 33-21. The Knicks maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
Some may call it a signature triumph for New York’s burgeoning economy, but Randle disagreed.
“I will not lie to you, dude; it is regular season. “I couldn’t care less,” Randle replied. “I prefer the fact that we won, first and foremost; you don’t want to be on that end. But we are developing the proper behaviors. “For me, it only matters in April.”
The Nuggets made 5 of 26 (19.2%) 3-pointers, and Aaron Gordon (12 points) was the only player other than Jokic to reach double figures.