The Knicks certainly didn't play with food, feasting on a team with a losing record all season.
But Tom Thibodeau's team will face a tough test against last year's NBA finalists in the next two games at the Garden.
Two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the defending league champion Nuggets, who are back near the top of the Western Conference standings at 31-14, will make their only MSG appearance of the season on Thursday night.
The teams will also face each other in Denver on March 21st.
The Heat, the team that defeated the Knicks in the second round of the playoffs last spring and lost to the Nuggets in the NBA Finals, will arrive on Saturday.
The Knicks' division into winning and losing teams is well-documented, and they look like pretty significant numbers when the playoffs arrive.
The Knicks are 20-1 this season against teams below .500 through Tuesday, meaning they are 7-16 against teams with winning records.
After starting the week undefeated against teams with losing records, the Jazz, who beat the Knicks in Utah in November, fell below .500 heading into Thursday's road game against the Wizards at 22-23. ing.
The 7-16 record includes games against the Mavericks and Magic, making it 10-2 with just two losses since OG Anunoby debuted on Jan. 1 in a trade with the Raptors. .
Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein (left Achilles strain) is again listed as questionable for Thursday's game after missing Tuesday's win at Brooklyn.
This was his first scratch in two seasons with the Knicks, and his streak of consecutive games played ended at 164.
Rarely used big man Jericho Sims started in his place and played a season-high 27 minutes on both ends, recording six points, four rebounds and four blocked shots.
Precious Achiuwa also had two strong games off the bench, averaging 12 points, 10 boards and 23 minutes in wins over the Raptors and Nets.
“Absolutely. Just getting a better feel for my teammates and understanding how they play,” said Achiuwa, another import element of the Anunoby deal. “That helped me understand the position I was supposed to be in and made it much easier to read it.”
The 6-foot-7 Anunoby has posted a plus rating in each of his 12 appearances, posting a league-high total plus of 201 since the trade, and if asked to protect the 6-foot Anunoby, he would say, “I'm not ready.'' “I'm doing it,” he said. 11 Jokic.
“Yeah, I've guarded Jokic before,” Anunoby said after Tuesday's game. “I don't know who's going to protect him. Maybe Isaiah will come back, or maybe Jericho or Precious will come back, but I'm ready too.”
Jokic, a two-time league MVP who finished second to 76ers center Joel Embiid last year, played in 44 games, averaging 26.2 points, 12.0 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game, nearly averaging a triple. Achieved a double.
