The Denver Nuggets (23 - 41) defeated the New York Knicks (12 - 50) 106 - 78 on Monday at the Pepsi Center in Denver. After an even first quarter, the Nuggets got hot in the second, out - scoring the Knicks 30 - 15 to go into the half up by 15. They continued with that momentum in the third quarter, this time out - scoring the Knicks 36 - 19. With such a large lead following the third, the Nuggets were then able to coast to the easy victory in front of their home crowd in the fourth. They were the superior shooters in this one as well, finishing at 44 percent from the field, while the Knicks went just 39 percent. They also forced the Knicks into 14 turnovers, while committing just eight of their own. Kenneth Faried got the start at center in this matchup, as Jusuf Nurkic was sitting out as he nursed an ankle injury. Despite being undersized for the center position, he went off for a team - high of 19 points (7 - 12 FG, 5 - 7 FT), while also adding 11 rebounds and a blocked shot in just 27 minutes. After struggling for a good portion of the season, he's started to pick things up lately, posting four double - doubles over his last five games. During that five - game stretch, he's averaging 15 points and 12 rebounds. Wilson Chandler also played well. He went 6 - for - 10 from the field and 2 - for - 4 from the three - point line for 17 points, to go along with six rebounds in 23 minutes. He could've had more, but he was rested with the Nuggets having such a big lead. Coming off the bench, Will Barton continued his surprising play with the Nuggets and posted 17 points (6 - 13 FG, 0 - 3 3Pt, 5 - 5 FT), four rebounds and three assists. Since coming over to the Nuggets from the Portland Trail Blazers 10 games ago, he's averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steals per game. Ty Lawson was the other Nugget in double figures, as he finished with 14 points (3 - 6 FG, 1 - 1 3Pt, 7 - 9 FT) and six assists. For the Knicks, Alexey Shved was in the starting lineup at shooting guard with Tim Hardaway Jr out with a back injury. Shved made the start count, finishing with a team - high of 19 points (6 - 12 FG, 3 - 6 3Pt, 4 - 6 FT) in just 25 minutes. It was his second strong performance in a row, as he just posted 15 points against the Pacers on Saturday. Considering he's averaged just 9 points so far this season, he's been a nice surprise for the Knicks since coming over from the Rockets in February. Langston Galloway was another player who had a decent showing Monday. He went 7 - for - 9 from the field to score 14 points, to go along with three rebounds and four assists. He continues to be very inconsistent for the Knicks, as his scoring and rebounding numbers fluctuate at a high rate from game to game. Andrea Bargnani had been turning some heads recently with two games in a row scoring more than 20 points. He came back down to earth a bit Monday and finished with just 12 points (4 - 14 FG, 1 - 1 3Pt, 3 - 4 FT) and seven rebounds. To be fair, he did play just 24 minutes due to the nature of the blowout, so he probably would have put up some some higher point totals with more time on the court. The Nuggets' next game will be at home against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, while the Knicks will travel to Utah to play the Jazz on Tuesday.
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