NEW YORK \u2014 Jalen Brunson is still the king of Manhattan.<\/p>\n
No matter how clutch the Nuggets were on Wednesday, no matter how Herculean the effort from Jamal Murray, no matter how hard David Adelman tried to ignore Nikola Jokic\u2019s minutes restriction, Brunson defended his palace until it was too late in a double-overtime thriller, which ended in a stinger of a Nuggets loss to the Knicks, 134-127.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a really fun game,\u201d said Murray, who led Denver with 39 points. \u201cThose are the games that are memorable. Obviously, the loss sucks. But that\u2019s a game that could have gone either way at any point of the overtime, any point of the fourth quarter. Those are the games you want to be a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Nuggets\u2019 injury nightmare resumed at Madison Square Garden, just when it seemed they were about to wake up. Nikola Jokic gave the bench a brief scare when he hit the deck then limped to the sideline without weight on his left leg. Spencer Jones went to the locker room with a head injury. Peyton Watson\u2019s night ended when he suddenly reached for his right hamstring in the second half. He\u2019ll undergo an MRI in the coming days.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t even notice P-Wat not come back,\u201d Murray said.<\/p>\n
But Denver (33-19) kept combining clutch buckets and desperate defensive stops to stay alive, to force both overtimes. In regulation, Murray passed up a potential go-ahead 3-pointer and instead worked his way in to the midrange \u2014 where he had been comfortable all fourth quarter \u2014 for a game-tying jumper with 13.2 seconds left. Christian Braun helped extend the game to by staying tight on Brunson and contesting his step-back attempt to win it on the ensuing possession.<\/p>\n
In the first overtime, the Nuggets pulled off an even trickier heist. Down two and out of timeouts after a successful challenge \u2014 Adelman wants the rule changed \u2014 Murray helped get Brunson off the ball, and OG Anunoby was forced to chuck up a grenade at the shot clock buzzer. Denver\u2019s last chance didn\u2019t go as smoothly this time. Still, after Murray missed a deep three, the officials called a loose ball foul against New York for preventing Braun from chasing down the rebound as time expired.<\/p>\n
The bailout foul was reminiscent of Russell Westbrook\u2019s at the buzzer of a double-overtime Denver loss last season. Like Ball Arena did that night, a portion of the crowd at MSG didn\u2019t hear the whistle and started celebrating as if the game was over. As it turned out, the foul had occurred with 0.3 seconds left. Braun made both free throws in the pressure cooker.<\/p>\n
But Brunson was relentless. He kept attacking Murray in space even after Murray picked his pocket on the first possession of double-overtime. He kept landing improbable haymakers. A midrange bank shot. A pull-up three with a hand in his face. He went for 42 points and nine assists. Around him, the Knicks made clutch defensive plays throughout both overtimes, and the Nuggets ran out of gas trying to find the right shots. Defensive-minded center Mitchell Robinson was closing the game for New York after Karl-Anthony Towns fouled out in the first overtime.<\/p>\n
\u201cA high-level NBA game. And for me, people think I\u2019m crushed; I\u2019m not,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cI saw a lot of growth compared to the last two games. A little more rhythm to the guys who are back.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Nuggets were down 16-9 early when Jokic seemingly suffered an injury to the same left leg that already cost him a month of games. This time, he didn\u2019t go to the locker room. He quickly signaled to the coaches that he wanted to continue playing, hopped up and down a few times, then returned to the court. His ankle was wrapped up later on when he subbed out.<\/p>\n
In an otherwise clean and workmanlike performance, Jokic struggled to find his touch on pick-and-pop 3s. Cruelest of all was his final attempt of regulation, a catch-and-shoot prayer from way downtown after Denver advanced the ball with less than a second left. His would-be buzzer beater flirted with the backboard and every part of the rim.<\/p>\n
Then it spun out. The luck of the bounce continued to oppose the Nuggets on their Eastern Conference back-to-back. Jokic missed 12 of 13 shots from deep, an anomalous glitch on a night he tied Oscar Robertson for second in NBA history with 181 career triple-doubles.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish Nikola would have shot 20,\u201d Adelman said before he could even be asked about those 3s.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, Adelman was in a pickle as overtime began. Jokic had already blown past his minutes restriction in regulation for the second consecutive night. He was at 34. But the Nuggets had not lost three straight games all season. They were in too deep. Out went Jokic for another opening tip. And so it went in the second overtime.<\/p>\n
He finished at 44 minutes. That number still wasn\u2019t enough to snatch a victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was an \u2018I don\u2019t care\u2019 factor once it got to overtime,\u201d an honest Adelman explained. \u201cWe talked about it, and then medical, they said no, he\u2019s fine to go. I think the issue would have been if I had sat him too long and then tried to get him back in for key moments. Once the overtime started, the game just keeps going. It keeps flowing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trade deadline eve<\/p>\n
This week has turned out to be surprisingly eventful around the NBA despite the lack of momentum toward a Giannis Antetokounmpo deal. While Anthony Davis (Washington) and Coby White (Charlotte) changed teams on Wednesday, the Nuggets remained idle. League sources told The Denver Post as the clock ticked inside of 24 hours that there may be traction on a deal that would have Hunter Tyson on the move, though Denver\u2019s front office has looked into multiple options.<\/p>\n
Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace have until 1 p.m. MT Thursday to complete a salary-shedding trade if they\u2019re going to get under the luxury tax.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s impossible for the players not to be distracted,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cI mean, maybe not some of them that are pretty solidified. But the way money moves around, it\u2019s not just about performance. It\u2019s just about, (some teams) are trying to get under the cap. Some teams are looking forward to draft capital. Nothing really surprises you. So I would imagine there\u2019s anxiety. I think that\u2019s a pretty natural human thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spencer Jones played his final NBA game of eligibility allowed by his two-way contract Wednesday, after the Nuggets sat him out in Detroit to conserve him for the second night of their back-to-back. Adelman reiterated before the game that he believes Jones to be a rotation-caliber NBA player, and early on, it looked like he wanted to squeeze every second he could get out of Jones. He used a challenge three minutes into the game to overturn a foul that had been called against the 24-year-old wing.<\/p>\n
Then in an ironic twist, Jones and Towns bumped heads as the All-Star center tried to drive on Jones. A stoppage followed, with blood on the tracks at Madison Square Garden. KAT\u2019s battle scars were more apparent \u2014 he kept playing with a red-stained jersey and a bandage above his right eye \u2014 but Jones was concussed on the play, he told The Denver Post afterward. So ended his two-way clock. The Nuggets won his 12 minutes by two. Now he can no longer play unless his contract is converted to a standard NBA deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll try to figure it out,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cThat\u2019s the way the NBA is right now with the two-ways. He\u2019s a unique one because of how much he\u2019s played, and he\u2019s deserved to play as much as he has.\u201d<\/p>\n