The frantic exchange of baskets finally eased a little after both teams' central stars left the floor in succession.
The game's rhythm shifted into a more grueling, fiercely contested tug-of-war.
Although the Nuggets were not particularly big, their overall defensive quality was still solid.
Under Mike Malone's guidance, the team maintained excellent defensive discipline and tactical awareness.
Watson, the young wing who had just entered the game, especially stood out with his on-ball defense and help defense.
A player with such outstanding physical talent and sharp defensive instincts only needed a little more perimeter shooting or ballhandling and passing ability to become someone every team would fight over.
Meanwhile, Little Porter and Murray, the two starters leading the unit, also began taking on more individual offensive responsibility.
Their individual abilities, normally overshadowed by Jokic's brilliance, began to show themselves.
As for the Knicks, they immediately switched from individual hero-ball to a collaborative team approach.
Chris Paul and Derrick Rose had both once been the League's very best point guards. Working together, they quickly established an orderly team rhythm and ran a highly structured offense.
The price of playing this way, however, was that the Knicks' perimeter defense found itself in a difficult position, forcing Paul George to shoulder a greater defensive burden.
Fortunately, that situation did not last long.
Before long, Thibodeau adjusted the rotation again, replacing Rose and George with Strus and Ethan. He went deeper into his bench, gave George some rest, and shored up the team's overall defense a little.
The tug-of-war between the Nuggets' and Knicks' transitional lineups continued until the final two minutes of the first quarter.
By then, the score stood at 37–32.
Even though Jamal Murray had shown his star quality during this stretch with both Chen Xi and George off the