The Knicks bench realized they were about to witness a niche moment in team history and quickly stood up.
OG Anunoby's face lit up and he suddenly broke into a big smile.
Jalen Brunson, a diminutive 6-foot-2 point guard, did just that.
At 6:46 of the third quarter on Thursday, Knicks' Face made a fast break to his favored left side, jumped with the ball in his left hand, cleared the rim and threw the ball into the hoop.
It's called a dunk, and it was Brunson's first of the season.
He recorded all five last season, but his athleticism wasn't the greatest attribute of a great player.
Brunson's ability to find humor in the moment, or at least help his teammates find humor in the moment, is also a strong trait.
Villanova and Knicks teammate Donte DiVincenzo told MSG Networks after the statement following the 122-84 victory over the defending champion Nuggets at the Garden. “That was like 1. It was weak.”
When Brunson was informed of DiVincenzo's dunk rating, he gave himself a few seconds to think and refrained from rebutting, at least for now.
“I'm going to keep everything to myself until the right moment,” Brunson said. “For that very moment. For the right moment.”
After a five-game winning streak in which nearly everyone played well, there was a reason the Knicks were taking it easy.
Brunson finished with 21 points on 7-of-10 field goals with four assists, two of which were more fun than most.
Isaiah Hartenstein, whose Ironman streak ended at 164 games on Tuesday, missed his second straight game due to so-called left Achilles tendinopathy.
Coach Tom Thibodeau described the Knicks center as “day-to-day” and declined to provide a specific timeline for his return.
“He looked a lot better today. We'll see how he's doing tomorrow and go from there,” Thibodeau said.
Hartenstein suffered from the same Achilles tendon last season, but he played through it.
“I'm really resistant to pain.” [matter] At this time, at this point,” Thibodeau said. “When he's ready to go, he's ready to go. Injuries are part of the game. The next guy gets in there and gets the job done.”
The next players were Jericho Sims and Precious Achiuwa, both active and limiting Nikola Jokic to his limits (31 points, 11 rebounds, 7 turnovers).
Sims was plus-20 with two points and eight rebounds, and Achiuwa was plus-18 with two points and 10 rebounds.
Jokic's only visit to the Garden this season didn't go well for the two-time MVP.
The superstar center said he was poked in the eye during the lopsided loss and his vision was affected “a little bit.”
This game was the Nuggets' fifth straight game, and the team looked tired.
Jokic gave credit to the Knicks and Anunoby, but acknowledged the team didn't play well.
“[Anunoby is] Of course he's a great defender. But I think we helped him,” Jokic said. “We especially helped them and him. We didn't screen well enough. Our passes were lazy. It wasn't a good night for us.”
