KNICKS FALL TO END TRIP
Rally falls short as Nuggets snap Knicks' win streak
LATE RALLY COMES UP SHORT IN LOSS TO NUGGETS
NUGGETS 111 KNICKS 105
DENVER — Whether the bench is run by David Fizdale or Mike Miller, the Knicks don’t have all the answers against the Nuggets. But at least this time, Miller’s Knicks didn’t quit.
Ten days after the Nuggets (17-8) walloped them by 37 points in Fizdale’s swan song, Denver was spanking the Knicks again, building a 20-point lead in the second quarter Sunday night.
But the Knicks (6-21) showed grittiness in the second half, taking a five-point lead with seven minutes left at Pepsi Center before going frigid in the final five minutes and falling 111-105 to conclude their four-game western swing at a respectable 2-2.
Though Miller was satisfied with the comeback falling short, Julius Randle was not.
“Definitely positive overall for the trip, but we felt like we let one go tonight,’’ Randle told The Post. “No more moral victories. We gave ourselves a chance to win. We should’ve won but didn’t make shots at the end.”
The defeat snapped the Knicks’ two-game winning streak and brought them to 6-21. Miller has the club playing with a smart, competitive zeal on defense in his first five games at the helm despite their awful first half Sunday.
“Early on the altitude really shocked up,’’ said Marcus Morris, who led the third-quarter comeback and finished with 22 points.
The Knicks were still up 100-98 with under four minutes left when the Nuggets took off on an 11-0 run. Denver’s superstar Nikola Jokic drained a right wing 3-pointer to give the Nuggets the lead for good at 102-100. Jokic scored 11 fourth-quarter points to finish with 25.
Morris and backup point guard Elfrid Payton spearheaded the Knicks’ big 33-20 third quarter. Morris dropped in 16 points in the period, but went scoreless in the final period. Morris said it was on him.
“I thought we played hard in the second half,’’ Morris said. “Down the stretch, we couldn’t get nothing to go, me in particular after a big third quarter. Down the stretch, I couldn’t get one to go. I got to be better down the stretch for my team.”
Randle finished with 20 points, but missed an open 3-pointer and a driving layup down the stretch when the Knicks went pointless for more than five minutes.
Miller said he was pleased overall and exhorted his team to find a grittier game during his halftime speech. Payton said Miller also made some tactical adjustments at halftime to switch up defensive coverages.
“We had some fun in the second half,’’ Miller said. “We played to that identity. We made adjustments we had to make and we battled. If we could put ourselves in a position with four minutes to play to have a chance, we’re doing what we need to do.’’
Payton’s layup cut the deficit to 85-84 in the final seconds of the third. He finished with 10 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds off the bench. Starter Frank Ntilikina had a solid overall game — 13 points, four assists, four steals and five rebounds as Dennis Smith Jr. didn’t play for a third straight game.
Kevin Knox’s putback dunk tied it at 89 and Taj Gibson’s spinning drive put them up 91-89 — their first lead since the opening minutes. A fallaway in the lane by Randle jacked the lead to 96-91 with 7:51 left.
However, the first-half performance in which the Knicks fell behind by 20 points after 15 minutes was disappointing. Denver shot 56.9 percent from the field in the half, often prancing to the basket for easy layups.
“How long they been together? Forever,’’ Morris said. “They know each other’s tendencies and how each other plays. It showed in the second quarter. We stayed resilient and gave them a run for their money.‘’
It looked just plain lazy defense as they started to cave late in the first quarter. Backup center Mason Plumlee looked unstoppable in the first half, racking up 12 points in 12 minutes (6-for-6 from the field) by intermission.
“They got a couple of easy ones early, but I don’t think got a lot late, Miller said.
Before the game, Miller downplayed the struggles the Knicks had against Denver in the prior matchup when they fell behind by 43 points. The game before that, Fizdale’s crew had lost in Milwaukee by 44 points. The next day management had enough of the embarrassing losses and axed Fizdale.
Sunday was a loss but not an embarrassment.