The Denver Nuggets play host to the New York Knicks at Ball Arena on Wednesday.

The Knicks (37-28) have been one of the best teams in the NBA over the last month, winning 12 of their last 13 games coming into this matchup. What makes that even more impressive is that the one loss came against the Phoenix Suns, who have been equally as good. The thing that's made them so dangerous is their defense, allowing the fewest points in the NBA. That's a testament to how good Tom Thibideau is as a coach and to these players who have bought in. The guy who's really gotten them to this point is Julius Randle, and he looks like a guarantee for The Most Improved Player of the Year Award this season.

The Nuggets (43-22) have been pretty impressive themselves, winning nine of their last 11 games coming into this matchup. That run is truly shocking when you see that they've lost Jamal Murray and Will Barton in that stretch, two of their best ball-handlers. Facundo Campazzo has done a nice job of taking over ball-handling duties in their absence, while Michael Porter Jr has taken some of the scoring load. That's a nice core around the future MVP, Nikola Jokic, and it has the Nuggets with the four-seed in the west. A loss to the Lakers on Monday is a discouraging sign, though, because that's a team that's been struggling mightily and could end up facing Denver in the first round of the playoffs if it started today.

These teams played back on January 10, with Denver prevailing, 110-89. That gives the Nuggets six-straight wins in this series and 11 victories in their last 12 meetings with the Knicks.