The Knicks outlasted the Nuggets in a thrilling double-overtime win on Wednesday.
Two of the most dominant team in both the Western and Eastern Conferences clashed Wednesday night and after a full game and then some, the New York Knicks reigned supreme.
The Knicks defeated the Denver Nuggets 134-127 in double-overtime led by an outstanding performance from Jalen Brunson, who scored 42 points with eight rebounds and nine assists on 14-27 shooting.
Brunson was followed by Karl-Anthony Towns with 24 points and 12 rebounds and OG Anunoby with 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Denver's stars didn't make it easy though. Nikola Jokic recorded yet another triple-double with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists while Jamal Murray had 39 points on 15-33 shooting from the field.
Mike Brown Praises Knicks' Resilience
"What a ballgame. Our team just showed a lot of grit, a lot of fight in this win. Just a resilient win by our guys," Knicks head coach Mike Brown said (via SNY). "We got beat in a few areas when you look at the box score you think you should lose, especially against a good team... But, our guys just found a way."
The Nuggets struck first with a 30 points first quarter, though the Knicks weren't far behind with 28 points. The next two two quarters then belonged to New York as the Knicks jumped ahead with 60 points in the third and fourth quarters, led by Brunson's massive offensive effort.
Going into the fourth, the Knicks held the advantage until a 10-2 run midway through the fourth quarter to overtake the lead for the first time since the second quarter. What followed after that was a back and forth battle that finished with a 108-108 tie.
Jokic shot what would have been the game-winning three-pointer with less than a second left but missed as the buzzer rang to send the game into overtime.
The Knicks kept up the fight through the first overtime and the game looked to be in their hands once again untilChristian Braun drew a foul with less than a second left and drained both his free throws to square the game up again at 119 each.
New York Takeover in Double-Overtime
The fight that the Nuggets showed throughout the first four quarters and first overtime was gone by the second free basketball session.
It was all New York in the final overtime period as they scored 15 points to shut the door on a tough Nuggets team to improve their record to 33-18.
The fact that the Knicks battled so long is a great sign for a team who's effort has been in question at times, and such a hard fought overtime win can be a good indicator of how the Knicks can fight come playoff time.