NEW YORK – Following his NBA championship victory two years ago, Nikola Jokic has now identified the thriving New York Knicks as one of the “top-five candidates” to finally break their 52-year title drought.
The Knicks triumphed over Jokic’s Denver Nuggets with a score of 122-112 on Wednesday, marking their fifth consecutive win. With a record of 32-16, they are just one game behind the reigning champions, the Boston Celtics, in the Eastern Conference standings.
In a remarkable offensive display, the Knicks scored 143 points during each of their previous two matchups, contributing to an impressive total of 408 points across the last three games — setting a new franchise record. Their highest scoring game of the season occurred in Denver back in November, where they notched 145 points.
Jokic, a three-time NBA MVP, praised the Knicks’ performance, stating, “They’re playing really well. They’re well-coached, they’re pushing the pace and in the halfcourt they know what they’re doing. So they’re a really good team. I think they are the favorites – not the favorites, but I think top-five candidates for the title.”
The Knicks last secured the championship title in 1973 and have not made it to the conference finals since 2000. However, they bolstered their roster this summer by acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns, who alongside Jalen Brunson, marked the Knicks’ first pair of players voted as All-Star starters since 1975.
In the game against the Nuggets, Brunson had an outstanding performance, scoring 30 points and delivering 15 assists, becoming just the fourth player in franchise history to achieve such a feat in a single game.
Despite being designated as the fourth favorite to win the title at BetMGM, trailing behind the Celtics, Oklahoma City, and Cleveland, the Knicks remain grounded and focused on the present. They are not entertaining thoughts of celebrating like Jokic and the Nuggets did last summer after clinching their first-ever NBA championship.
“I don’t want to talk about the future, I want to talk about the present,” Towns remarked. “I want to talk about what we can do right now to be the best team we can be, because I have a lot of experience and if you can take care of the present, the future will take care of itself.”
