The New York Knicks look to end their four-game West Coast trip on a high note when they head to the Pepsi Center to take on the Denver Nuggets in a Sunday night matchup. Denver easily handled the Knicks in their first meeting this season, 129-92, on December 5.

The Knicks have now won two straight for the first time all season after prevailing 103-101 against the Sacramento Kings on Friday. Trailing 77-61 in the third quarter, New York was able to outscore Sacramento 42-24 the rest of the way to secure the tight victory. Julius Randle led the team with 26 points, while three reserves also reached double-figure scoring totals (Elfrid Payton 16, Mitchell Robinson 14, Damyean Dotson 11).

Denver is also in the midst of a mini two-game win streak after their 110-102 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday. The ball movement was superb as the Nuggets assisted on 30 of their 43 made field goals while shooting 50.6 percent from the field. Nikola Jokic finished with yet another triple-double as he had 28 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists. According to ESPN, that was his 32nd career triple-double, which places him in a tie with Rajon Rondo for 11th on the all-time list.

Team records

New York: 6-20 (tied for 13th in Eastern Conference), 3-10 on the road

Denver: 16-8 (fourth in Western Conference), 10-3 at home

Injury report

New York: Out - Reggie Bullock (back), Wayne Ellington (Achilles), Allonzo Trier (concussion)

Denver: Questionable - Paul Millsap (quadricep)

Projected starters

New York: PG - Frank Ntilikina, SG - RJ Barrett, SF - Marcus Morris, PF - Julius Randle, C - Taj Gibson

Denver: PG - Jamal Murray, SG - Gary Harris, SF - Will Barton, PF - Jerami Grant (Paul Millsap if deemed healthy enough to play), C - Nikola Jokic

Team leaders

New York: Scoring - Marcus Morris 18.6, Rebounding - Julius Randle 8.7, Assists - Elfrid Payton 4.1, Steals - Elfrid Payton 1.8, Blocks - Mitchell Robinson 1.9

Denver: Scoring - Jamal Murray 17.0, Rebounding - Nikola Jokic 10.2, Assists - Nikola Jokic 6.5, Steals - Jamal Murray 1.4, Blocks - Paul Millsap 0.8

Team rankings

New York: Points - 101.1 (30th out of 30 teams), Points allowed 111.2 (17th)

Denver: Points - 106.3 (23rd), Points allowed - 101.6 (1st)

Things to know before the game

The Knicks will be attempting to win their third straight game, which is something they haven’t accomplished in over a year.

The last time they were able to do so was from November 21-November 25, 2018, when they defeated the Boston Celtics, New Orleans Pelicans, and Memphis Grizzlies.

New York may be hard-pressed finding ways to put the ball in the basket as their last-ranked scoring attack faces Denver’s top-ranked scoring defense. The Knicks also rank last with their 42.2 percent field goal shooting while Denver places sixth, allowing opponents to shoot just 43.8 percent from the field.

Five games into coming back after missing more than a month with a hamstring issue, Elfrid Payton is once again rounding into form. He has averaged 28.5 minutes over the last two games and has totaled 30 points (14-27 shooting), eight rebounds, and nine assists.
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