Prior to Wednesday night’s game against the Knicks, Nuggets coach Mike Malone talked about “next man up.”
As in what had to happen to capture a victory with two-time MVP Nikola Jokic out of the lineup. The center entered health and safety protocol Tuesday night.
As it turned out, the man Malone was looking for failed to show up in crunch time and the Knicks rallied for a rare 106-103 win at Ball Arena.
How rare? New York had not beaten the Nuggets in Denver since Nov. 8, 2006, a span of 14 consecutive losses.
The Nuggets overcame a sluggish first half and seemed to take control late behind the play of guards Jamal Murray and Bones Hyland.