NEW YORK (AP) — 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 the reigning champion Boston Celtics for second place in the Eastern Conference.
After 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.
They scored their season high of 145 points in a victory in Denver in November.
“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.”
The 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.
Brunson had 30 points and 15 assists Wednesday, becoming just the fourth Knicks player to do that in a game.
But 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.
“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.”
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