Field Level Media
Dec 15, 2019
Nikola Jokic had game highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds, Will Barton scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the New York Knicks 111-105 on Sunday night.
Jokic has recorded double-doubles in six straight games, including a triple-double against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.
Gary Harris had 15 points and Jamal Murray and Mason Plumlee scored 14 points each to help the Nuggets beat New York for the 12th straight time in Denver.
Plumlee also had eight rebounds and six assists, and Jerami Grant finished with 11 points. The Nuggets have won the first three games of their five-game homestand after dropping five of their previous six.
Marcus Morris Sr. led the Knicks with 22 points, Julius Randle had 20 points and nine rebounds, and Frank Ntilikina scored 13 and had four steals and four assists for New York. The Knicks had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
The Nuggets, who were playing their second home game in as many nights, led by 20 with about eight minutes left in the second quarter and took a comfortable 16-point halftime lead, but New York slowly chipped away in the third quarter.
Denver's lead was 11 after Harris hit a 3-pointer with 3:46 left in the period, but the Knicks closed out the period on an 11-3 run to make it 87-84 heading into the fourth. They started the last quarter on a 14-6 run to lead by five, 98-93.
New York went cold, going without a bucket for nearly six minutes while Denver took over.
The Nuggets rallied to tie it on a 3-pointer by Barton with about six minutes left, and after a New York basket, Denver scored 11 straight points to pull it out.
Plumlee split a pair of free throws and Jokic hit a shot from behind the arc to give Denver a 102-100 lead with 3:46 left. The Knicks had three more empty possessions, Jokic hit two free throws, and Murray drained a 3-pointer with 1:32 left to widen the lead to 107-100.
--Field Level Media