Field Level Media
Jan 1, 2019
Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 15 assists and 14 rebounds, Malik Beasley scored a career-high 23 points off the bench, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the New York Knicks 115-108 on Tuesday night.
Jokic notched his third triple-double this season and the 19th in his career.
Paul Millsap scored 16 points in his second game back from a broken toe to help the Nuggets win their third straight.
Luke Kornet had 19 points, Kevin Knox scored 18 and Enes Kanter had 17 for the Knicks, who have lost eight in a row.
Emmanuel Mudiay finished with 15 points in his first game in Denver since the Nuggets traded him to New York last season.
Denver guard Gary Harris returned to the lineup to score six points. Harris, who missed 11 games with a hip injury, came off the bench and played 20 minutes.
Millsap and Beasley helped turn a two-point deficit into a win with an early surge in the fourth quarter. Mason Plumlee tied it at 84 with a dunk. Millsap hit a short jumper, Beasley hit two of his five 3-pointers and Millsap hit another step-back shot to give the Nuggets a 94-87 lead.
Mudiay hit a shot from behind the arc to pull the Knicks within four but Beasley answered with another 3-pointer to push the lead to 103-96 midway through the fourth.
New York made one last surge to get within four but Jokic's 3-pointer with 2:55 left made it 109-102.
The Knicks, who were blown out in Utah on Saturday night, led most of the game and by as many as nine in the second quarter. New York went scoreless for the last four minutes of the period and only led by one at halftime.
The game stayed close throughout the third quarter. Denver tried to take control with six straight points to lead 72-69 midway through but New York responded with a 9-1 run. It was tied until Kanter hit a layup to give the Knicks an 84-82 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
--Field Level Media