It must be something in the (dirty) water, but Denver needs to take the fastest bridge possible out of New York (insert Chris Christie joke here). On the heels of a week that saw both the Broncos and the Avalanche temporarily forget how to play their own sport, the Nuggets followed suit and were blown out of Madison Square Garden 117-90. Carmelo Anthony (31 points) led the way as per normal for the victors, but it was Denver’s inability to take care of the ball (24 turnovers) that did them in. The loss snaps a two game win streak and will go down as a significant stumble to start the final road trip before the All-Star break.
Unlike their Denver Sports brethren, the Nuggets jumped out to an early lead. Ty Lawson and company had it going on both ends of the floor and at one point the visitors led 33-24.
Things went sour quickly in the 2nd quarter as the basketball quickly turned into a hot potato. Denver turned the ball over 11 times in the frame, including each of their last five possessions. The ugly play led to a 14 point quarter and provided Anthony with the window he needed to take over. At one point, the small forward hit nine shots in a row, en route to a 20 point half and a 50-44 Knicks lead at the midpoint.
Sloppy offense turned into sloppy defense the rest of the way. New York shot 14 of 21 in the third quarter, increasing the margin to 15 points at the end of three. The Knicks, who have trouble breaking the 100 point barrier, scored 67 points in the 2nd half alone.
Ty Lawson led Denver with 24 points. Wilson Chandler scored 17 in his first appearance at The Garden since being traded away from the team that drafted him. The Nuggets fall back to .500 on the season. They’ll head to the Motor City tomorrow for a showdown with the Pistons.
