The Knicks’ bench quickly rose, realizing it was about to witness a niche moment in team history.
OG Anunoby’s face lit up, suddenly sporting a wide smile.
Jalen Brunson, all 6-foot-2 of the undersized point guard, had done it.
At 6:46 of the third quarter on Thursday, the face of the Knicks successfully broke away on a fast break on his favored left side, put the ball in his left hand and jumped, cleared the rim and threw the ball through the hoop.
It’s called a dunk, and it was the first credited to Brunson this season.
He chalked up all of five last season, his athleticism not the greatest attribute of an otherwise great player.
Brunson’s ability to find humor in the moment — or at least to allow his teammates to find humor in the moment — also is a strong attribute.
“It was weak,” Villanova and Knicks teammate Donte DiVincenzo told MSG Networks after the statement, 122-84 win at the Garden over the defending-champion Nuggets. “That was like a 1. It was weak.”
Informed about DiVincenzo’s rating of the dunk, Brunson allowed himself a few seconds to think and declined to issue a rebuttal — for now at least.
“I’m just going to keep everything to myself for the right moment,” Brunson said. “For the right moment. For the right moment.”
The Knicks had reason to be lighthearted after their fifth straight win, one in which just about everyone played well.
Brunson finished 7 of 10 from the field with four assists and 21 points, two of which were more fun than most.
Isaiah Hartenstein, whose iron man streak ended at 164 games on Tuesday, missed his second straight game with what is being called left Achilles tendinopathy.
Coach Tom Thibodeau termed the Knicks center as “day to day” and declined to offer a specific timetable for his return.
“He was a lot better today, and we’ll see where he is tomorrow and go from there,” Thibodeau said.
The same Achilles bothered Hartenstein last season, though he played through it.
“It’s really a pain tolerance [matter] at this time and this point,” Thibodeau said. “When he’s ready to go, he’s ready to go. Injuries are part of the game. Next guy get in there and get the job done.”
The next guys were Jericho Sims and Precious Achiuwa, who were both active and limited Nikola Jokic (31 points, 11 rebounds and seven turnovers) as much as anyone can limit him.
Sims finished with two points and eight rebounds, a plus-20, while Achiuwa added two points and 10 rebounds as a plus-18.
Jokic’s only visit to the Garden this season did not go well for the two-time MVP.
The superstar center was poked in the eye during the lopsided loss and said his vision was affected “a little bit.”
The game was the fifth straight on the road for the Nuggets, who looked like a tired team.
Jokic credited the Knicks and Anunoby, but allowed that his team did not play well.
“[Anunoby is] a great defender, of course. But I think we helped him,” Jokic said. “We helped them and him, especially. We didn’t screen enough. Our passes were lazy. It was just not a good night for us.”