Out of Gas

The Knicks gave the defending champs a fight, but didn't have enough to make it a perfect West Coast swing.

Good morning, and happy Friday. The road trip ended with a loss, but there was nothing for anyone to hang their head about in Denver, as the Knicks fought valiantly but just came up short. We’ll recap the game, plus look forward to a big weekend in the East playoff race, right now…

Game 69: Knicks 100, Nuggets 113

In a New York minute…

This one was ultra-competitive out of the gate, with 10 first quarter ties and no team leading by more than six at any point in the first half. Denver’s Jokic-centric offense was on point, but so was New York’s attack behind 17 assists on 23 first half field goals. The Nuggets began to pull away a bit in the third, but the Knicks’ reserves made a run in the fourth to cut the lead to two. Ultimately, it was just too much Jokic, who helped spring Michael Porter Jr for 31 points on just 16 shots. After a long trip at the end of a season that has pushed them to their limits, New York finally ran out of gas.

Three Things

1. No quit. Fourth game of a four-game West Coast road trip, 5280 feet above sea level, against the defending champs, with the best player on the planet at the peak of his powers.

And this was a two-point game with just over eight minutes remaining.