The New York Knicks have been struggling mightily of late, and will not face an easy task on Thursday when they have a home meeting against the Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden. It will be the first time that New York has played Denver this season.

After winning six in a row, the Nuggets are now on a mini-skid as they have come up short in two straight games. On Tuesday, they fell to the Los Angeles Lakers by the score of 105-96, according to ESPN. Denver was unable to consistently put the ball through the hoop as they shot just 40.7 percent from the field and 20.7 percent from three-point territory.

The leading scorers were Jamal Murray with 22 and Paul Millsap with 21.

The Knicks have now lost each of their last seven outings, and on Monday they were whitewashed by the Milwaukee Bucks 132-88. New York was outclassed in every fashion and was held to an abysmal 30.8 field goal percentage. In the ugly loss, Julius Randle led the team with 19 points.

Records

Nuggets: 13-5 (third in Western Conference), 5-2 on road

Knicks: 4-17 (15th in Eastern Conference), 3-8 at home

Injuries

Nuggets: no notable injuries

Knicks: Out - Reggie Bullock (back), Questionable - Marcus Morris Sr. (neck), Frank Ntilikina (back), Elfrid Payton (hamstring)

Projected starters

Nuggets: PG - Jamal Murray, SG - Gary Harris, SF - Will Barton, PF - Paul Millsap, C -Nikola Jokic

Knicks: PG - Frank Ntilikina (Dennis Smith Jr.

if Ntilikina is unable to play), SG - RJ Barrett, SF - Marcus Morris Sr. (Kevin Knox if Morris Sr. is unable to play), PF - Julius Randle, C - Taj Gibson

Team leaders

Nuggets: Points - Jamal Murray 18.7, Rebounds - Nikola Jokic 10.1, Assists - Nikola Jokic 6.1, Steals - Jamal Murray 1.7, Blocks - Paul Millsap, Mason Plumlee 0.8

Knicks: Points - Marcus Morris Sr.

18.7, Rebounds - Julius Randle 8.7, Assists - Frank Ntilikina 3.5, Steals - Frank Ntilikina 1.4, Blocks - Mitchell Robinson 1.9

Team rankings

Nuggets: Points - 106.1 (23rd of 30), Points allowed - 101.9 (first)

Knicks: Points - 100.9 (30th), Points allowed - 110.4 (17th)

Things to know prior to tip-off

Points may come at a premium for New York especially if leading scorer Marcus Morris Sr.

does not play. The Knicks rank dead last in scoring average while Denver allows opponents the lowest scoring average in the league.

While Nikola Jokic is still one of the most talented young centers in the NBA, he hasn’t quite had the same impact as he did last season. In his last four games, he has averaged only nine points and didn’t reach a double-digit scoring total in three of those outings.

These are two of the best offensive rebounding teams as the Knicks lead with 12.3 per game, and the Nuggets are fifth averaging 11.1. New York has ample opportunities though to grab them as they have the worst field goal percentage in the league.
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