Mile High Massacre

The Knicks, led by a forward with a real All-Star case, dominated in Denver.

GOOD MORNING, LADIES AND SIRS. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY I’TIS

Game 17: Knicks 145, Nuggets 118

• It was a night of highs in Mile High, with OG Anunoby setting a career high with 40 points, Jalen Brunson dishing a career high 17 assists, the Knicks tying a franchise high with 45 assists, and New York scoring an NBA season high 145 points.

• The defense helped set the tone early on, coming out with the sort of energy that was lacking in Utah and largely neutralizing Nikola Jokic (20, 7 & 7).

• Deuce McBride returned and made an immediate impact.

• KAT bounced back from a rough game to score 30 points on 15 shots.

• Mikal Bridges’ shooting struggles continued (6-for-16; 2-of-8 from deep).

Once upon a time in sports, before the Philadelphia 76ers turned it into a dirty word, the idea of going through the “process” was not a bad thing at all.

More than that, it was - and still is - a necessary evil.

Teams that undergo seismic changes rarely come out of the gate with the level of consistency one might expect from a title contender. For every 2008 Celtics, there is a 2011 Heat, a 2013 Lakers and a 2015 Cavs. Growing pains are the rule, not the exception.

So when the Knicks headed into Denver - a long time house of horrors where New York had lost 15 of their previous 16 games - with an underwhelming 9-7 record and a defense that could generously be called “inconsistent,” it shouldn’t have seemed all that strange.

And yet it was, simply because of the resources, both financial and asset-wise, that went into putting this roster together. With 16 games under their belt and not a single signature win to their name, it was fair to wonder when the New Look Knicks were going to show us a complete performance that would justify all the hype.

Well that wait, thankfully, is over.