The New York Knicks finish their four-game road trip Thursday night as they take on the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena.
The Knicks have caught fire away from Madison Square Garden, winning all three games on their current swing. Their last win came at Golden State on Monday, a 119-112 victory as 6.5-point underdogs.
Guard Jalen Brunson, who has averaged 40.3 points per game on the trip, scored 34 against the Warriors.
The Knicks (41-27) are just seven victories away from eclipsing last season’s total.
The Nuggets continue to play solid, but unspectacular basketball, at least measured by their standard of last year’s championship squad. They own a 48-21 record and are battling for the overall No. 1 seed in the Western Conference with the Thunder and Timberwolves.
Knicks vs. Nuggets prediction
(9 p.m. ET, MSG)
Denver picked up a huge victory at Minnesota on Tuesday, 115-112, but failed to cover as a 7.5-point favorite. The Nuggets jumped out to a 15-point halftime lead before the Wolves came back and had a shot to tie the game in the final seconds.
Center Nikola Jokic put together another outstanding performance with 35 points and 16 rebounds against Minnesota, but the MVP favorite has not had back-to-back 30-point games since late January.
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The Knicks dominated the first meeting with the Nuggets in late January, winning by 38 points at the Garden as 2.5-point underdogs. It marked the third straight win for New York in the series.
Forward Julius Randle played in the first game, but he is still sidelined with a shoulder injury.
This might be the point of the road trip where the Knicks run out of gas. Plus, the Nuggets certainly haven’t forgotten about that blowout two months ago.
Let’s lay the points with Denver at home against the Knicks.
THE PLAY: Nuggets -9.5 (-110, FanDuel)