Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic (15) shoots over New York Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
NEW YORK — Two years after he won an NBA title, Nikola Jokic views the surging New York Knicks as a “top-five candidate” to end their 52-year championship drought.
The Knicks beat Jokic’s Denver Nuggets 122-112 on Wednesday for their fifth straight victory. At 32-16, they are a game behind reigning champion Boston for second place in the Eastern Conference.
fun77bet slotArticle continues after this advertisementAfter ringing up 143 points in each of their two previous games, their total Wednesday gave the Knicks 408 over their last three games, a franchise record.
FEATURED STORIES SPORTS Sammy Acaylar, veteran volleyball coach, dies at 66 SPORTS NBA: Raptors rout the NBA-worst Wizards for 5th straight win SPORTS PVL: Much-improved ZUS Coffee showing promise READ: NBA: Suring Kings beat slumping Nuggets for 5th straight winfiring on all cylinders 💥
Jalen 30 PTS | 4 REB | 15 ASTOG 23 PTS | 4 REBJosh 15 PTS | 5 REB | 5 AST | 3 STLKAT 14 PTS | 10 REB | 5 AST | 1 BLKMikal 13 PTS | 3 REB | 2 AST | 1 STLDeuce 12 PTS | 4 AST pic.twitter.com/sjXv9Dmjgj
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 30, 2025
They scored their season-high of 145 points in a victory in Denver in November.
Article continues after this advertisement“They’re playing really well. They’re well-coached, they’re pushing the pace and in the halfcourt they know what they’re doing. So they’re a really good team,” said Jokic, the three-time NBA MVP. “I think they are the favorites – not the favorites, but I think top-five candidates for the title.”
Article continues after this advertisementThe Knicks haven’t won the title since 1973 and haven’t reached the conference finals since 2000. But they loaded up for a run this summer by acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns, who with Jalen Brunson gave the Knicks two players voted as All-Star starters for the first time since 1975.
Article continues after this advertisementBrunson had 30 points and 15 assists Wednesday, becoming just the fourth Knicks player to do that in a game.
READ: NBA: Knicks roll over Grizzlies for biggest win of seasonBut the Knicks, who are currently the fourth choice to win the title at BetMGM behind Boston, Oklahoma City, and Cleveland, don’t want to think about having a summer celebration like Jokic and the Nuggets enjoyed in 2023 when they won their franchise’s first NBA title.
News that South Korean behemoth SK hynix had started mass production of a more advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chip also fanned optimism among investors already upbeat after China unveiled a raft of economy-boosting measures this week.
Beijing has this week announced some of the strongest measures in years to boost activity in the world’s second-largest economy, which has yet to achieve a full recovery from the pandemic.
“I don’t want to talk about the future, I want to talk about the present,” Towns said. “I want to talk about what we can do right now to be the best team we can be, because I have a lot of experience and if you can take care of the present, the future will take care of itself.”
Subscribe to our daily newsletter