Three-and-one is a good way to end a West Coast road trip.
The Knicks took their first loss of a four-game swing in a 113-100 loss to the defending champion Denver Nuggets late Thursday night.
Two-time league Most Valuable Player of the Year Nikola Jokic posted a triple-double with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, and Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. scored a game-high 31 points on 13-of-16 shooting from the field as the Nuggets (49-21) moved into a virtual tie with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the Western Conference’s No.1. seed.
With the loss and a Thursday night Orlando Magic victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, the Knicks fell to the Eastern Conference’s fifth seed.
New York is a half-game behind Orlando, 1.5 games behind the No. 3 seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and 3.5 games behind the East’s second-place Milwaukee Bucks.
Knicks star Jalen Brunson score 26 points on 11-of-23 shooting from the field, and Isaiah Hartenstein scored a career-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting while playing physical defense against Jokic.
Hartenstein played 27 minutes and fouled out late in the fourth quarter.
The Knicks defeated the Nuggets at Madison Square Garden by 38 points on Jan. 25 in the final stop of a five-game Denver road trip.
The defending champs returned the favor by sending the Knicks home with a double-digit loss in the fourth and final stop of their final road trip out West this season.
Despite significant players missing from the starting rotation, the Knicks kept it a game until the final period.
OG Anunoby missed his second consecutive game after aggravating his surgically repaired right elbow. Julius Randle continues to miss time after dislocating his right shoulder in a Jan. 27 matchup against the Miami Heat. And starting center Mitchell Robinson has not played since sustaining a stress fracture in his left ankle on Dec. 8.
Robinson, who underwent surgery on the ankle, has returned to practice and is expected to make an injury return soon.
If the Knicks can get healthy, they can be a force come playoff time. Their road trip out West all but solidified the notion.
The Knicks have won six of their last nine games and watched a four-game winning streak come to an end in Denver.
New York is 15-2 in games Anunoby has been in the rotation.
It remains unclear how long both Anunoby and Randle will sit due to injury rehab, but the Knicks have made it clear others will step up to hold down the fort until the stars return.
Miles McBride got a second straight start in place of Anunoby and played 44 minutes, scoring 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field. Alec Burks also provided a spark with 18 points on three-of-six shooting off the bench in Denver Thursday night.
Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray scored 23 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the field, and Donte DiVincenzo shot three-of-eight from downtown for 11 points.
DiVincenzo moved into second place on the Knicks’ all-time threes-made in a season leaderboard behind only Evan Fournier.
The Knicks return home on Saturday for a matinee matchup against the Brooklyn Nets.
