Steve Popper: Knicks' domination of Denver the kind of win that should set their sights a mile high

 DENVER — There are moments, sometimes fleeting, sometimes like Friday night, when you watch the Knicks and wonder for a moment, just how good can they be?

On Friday, the Knicks looked like a team that really could believe, that you could really believe in, as they went on the road in the midst of an arduous stretch of games and simply dismantled a Western Conference powerhouse in the Nuggets, 142-103. It was tied for the worst home loss in franchise history.

In the mile-high atmosphere, the Knicks had the Nuggets gasping for air as they dominated on both sides of the ball.

OG Anunoby, who had a career-high 40 points here last season, put up 34 before exiting with all of the starters early in the fourth quarter. Jalen Brunson scored only nine points and shot 3-for-13 but handed out 15 assists for the second straight game.

You could point to reasons why. The Nuggets were on the second night of a back-to-back. Aaron Gordon was returning from a lengthy absence and clearly not himself. Jamal Murray left the game with a sprained ankle just before halftime and was unable to return.

But the simple explanation on this night was this: The Knicks just did everything right.

“We feel like we can still be better,” coach Mike Brown said. “I’ve said this all along, that’s what the season is about. You’re not going to have it all in one week or two months. You got to go through your lumps. Because when you go through your lumps, if you truly have a chance at the end of the day, you’re going to grow from your lumps.

“That’s what this group is doing — because we’re going to take a couple lumps still. But you hope you don’t [go through more highs and lows]. But this team, it’s deep, it’s really good. These guys are connected. They’re all sacrificing. The competitive spirit is there. They believe in each other. Our bench is up all game. We got delays of games because our bench was up for each other. And we’re holding each other accountable. I’m being held accountable, which is great.”

There were signs all night.

At one point in the third quarter, Brunson was 1-for-10 from the floor. Their best player and most dangerous offensive weapon was struggling to find his shot, and still the Knicks were up by 19 points.

Mikal Bridges, a skilled but mild-mannered defender, got tangled up with Murray, shoved him and was called for his first technical foul of the season.

Josh Hart was questionable before the game with a lower back contusion, and on his 31st birthday, he not only played but contributed 18 points and was the centerpiece of an effort in which the Knicks recovered all 15 of the 50-50 balls.

Nikola Jokic scored all 38 of his points in the first three quarters for Denver, but his teammates had only 42 in that span.

The Knicks held the Nuggets to 3-for-26 shooting from three-point range in the first three quarters and scored 115 points in the final three periods.

“I think a lot of it is we’re playing more physical, being more aggressive defensively and dictating the offense and not letting the offense dictate what they want to do,” Hart said. “It’s something that we’ve got to continue to do, something that we’re taking pride in. We know that when we do that, we’re getting stops, we’re able to play fast, play our brand of basketball. It’s a mindset that we all really dug in more defensively, and that’s the benefit of it.”

It’s still only March, and the goal for the Knicks is to do this in the postseason.

“It’s a good stepping stone for us, but it’s nothing to get too high about,” Brunson said. “Obviously, the highs and lows of the season, you’ve got to continue to push forward. Short-term memory, even wins and losses.”

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.