One down, six to go in the hardest stretch of games the Nuggets will play all season. After holding off a late rally by the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, Denver gets the privilege of hosting the New York Knicks on a back-to-back despite having four(!) injured forwards. Fortunately, Ball Arena has become actual Hell for the Los Angeles Lakers who again took the L on their way out, but the Knicks aren’t saddled with the same curse.
The good guys are finally on the verge of getting healthy for the first time in 2026, though. Cam Johnson, Spencer Jones, and Aaron Gordon are all being called game-time decisions for tonight’s tilt. Peyton Watson remains out but isn’t long for the bench. With each game the Nuggets can scratch out, they get closer to finally having their playoff roster in tact and ready to ramp up toward another Finals run.
The Basics
Who: Denver Nuggets (39-24) vs New York Knicks (40-23)
When: 7:00 PM MST
Where: Ball Arena, Snowy Colorado
How to watch/listen: NBC / Altitude TV / + /
Rival Blog: Posting and Toasting
Injury Report | Nuggets: Aaron Gordon—questionable (hamstring); Cameron Johnson—questionable (ankle); Spencer Jones—questionable (shoulder); Peyton Watson—out (hamstring)
New York Knicks: Josh Hart—questionable (back); Miles McBride—out (pelvic)
The Three Things
The thing to watch for: Aaron Gordon’s return (obviously)
Word on the tweet is that Mr. Nugget wants to return tonight. (As of the time of this writing, he is being listed as a game-time decision.)
The Nuggets need him as the team’s defense has fallen to 22nd in the league without their frontline anchor, and the extra defensive burden on Jokic seems like it may be contributing to some fatigue (i.e. turnovers and bad three-point shooting). Once upon a time prior to the Injurypocalypse, the Nuggets had a respectable defense with healthy, active bigs and Christian Braun, Cam Johnson, and Swatson chasing around shooters. According to Coach Adelman, the effort on that end has been better since the All-Star break, but it hasn’t been nearly championship level.
All eyes will be on the pre-game injury report and the hopeful return of the hamstring that our defense, and championship hopes, rest on.
The thing to remember: The Knicks might be the best team in the East
The Knicks come into tonight’s game having beaten Houston, Toronto, Milwaukee, Chicago, and the of-late untouchable Spurs (by 25, even!) over the last two weeks. Their only losses have been to OKC on the last possession and to a Harden-saddled Cavs team. Now sitting 3rd in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks looked poised to make a run at the two-seed despite Jason Tatum’s imminent return.
While Detroit has dominated the Eastern Conference since November and hold the NBA’s second best record, the Knicks have the experience edge, having been through several deep runs with the current core. They also beat the Nuggets in overtime on February 4th—the only matchup between these teams this season—despite Murray going off for 39 and Jokic having 30/14/10 (although he missed 11 of 12 from deep, so).
The Knicks are good, they can score (3rd) and defend (6th), and they know how to win big games on the road. It should be a fun one again tonight.
The thing to bet: Murray Flurry Parlay | +30 points and +3 threes
Mal had 39 in the first matchup despite shooting 3/14 from three (15/33 overall). With homecourt advantage and coming in having cooked the Jazz and Lakers, look for Murray to again duel it out with Brunson and run it up. (Jokic over 12 rebounds seems like a gimme, too.)
