The New York Knicks hope to avoid entering the NBA Play-In Tournament in the Eastern Conference. Two weeks ago, their position appeared precarious as a result of significant player injuries. Fast forward to the present, and they have done an outstanding job of stabilizing.

New York is only 1.5 games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for third place in the East, but one game down in the loss column. The Knicks are riding a four-game winning streak as they prepare for the final game of their four-game road trip.

They will go to the high altitude to play against the Denver Nuggets in their away game. New York will have a difficult matchup because the defending NBA champions are also competing for first place in the Western Conference.

The Knicks’ most difficult assignment will be figuring out how to slow down two-time MVP Nikola Jokic. Jokic scored 31 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists in the two teams’ first meeting of the season.

He was the lone player to score for Denver, who fell 122-84 on January 25th. Jokic went 13-of-18 from the field, while Aaron Gordon was the only other Nuggets player to reach double figures.

Prior to the game on Thursday night, Knicks guard Josh Hart was questioned about his team’s strategy for slowing Jokic down. Hart, ever the comedian, had a fantastic response to the question. “Pray,” Hart said, according Fred Katz of The Athletic.

That is undoubtedly one approach to slow Jokic down, as the Knicks will have a difficult time stopping him; they can only attempt to contain him. Replicating their game plan from the first encounter would be a smart place to start, given Denver’s worst loss of the 2023-24 NBA regular season occurred on that night.