DENVER – After Michael Malone described the Knicks as one of the “elite” offensive teams in the NBA, they showed the championship-winning NBA coach why in an explosive and historic display Monday night at Ball Arena.

The Knicks brought both facets of their game together – sharing the ball to tie a franchise record with 45 assists – in easily their most impressive victory of the season, 145-118, over Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.

“That’s what I liked about the game. I thought the team has been very unselfish all year,” Tom Thibodeau said after the Knicks scored their most points since November 1980 against the Pistons. “We create good shots, and we find the guy with a good hand or a good match, but we do it through movement, and that’s everyone working together to create the right shots. If we do that, we will be an excellent offensive team.”

The hot hand has increasingly become OG Anunoby, who lit up the scoreboard after being awarded the richest contract in team history ($212.5 million) last summer.

Anunoby continued his scoring spree in November with a career-high 40 points on a scorching 16-for-23 from the floor, including five of seven from 3-point range, to lead the 60.9 percent shooting percentage of the Knicks.

“I didn’t see any splits, but we’re a really good team, so it was pretty cool,” said Anunoby, who scored a career-high 27 last season with seven 3-pointers one game earlier in Saturday’s loss. to the Jazz. “I’ve never been on a team like this before.”

Thibodeau’s team also bounced back from a poor defensive effort in Utah, but it was the Knicks’ high-powered offense that once again stood out.

They matched the most points scored in a single half this season with 76 through the first two quarters, and their 45 assists matched the 1979 franchise mark.

Jalen Brunson scored 23 points with a career-high 17 assists for the Knicks, who will continue their five-game road trip in Dallas on Wednesday night.

He became the first Knick since Nate Robinson in 2008-09 to reach at least 20 and 15 in those categories in the same game.

“The ball went in the hoop and we got off to a good start and didn’t really look back,” Brunson said.

Karl-Anthony Towns remained in the lineup after being listed as questionable following a minus-34 performance at Utah, and he finished with 30 points and 15 rebounds for the Knicks (10-7).

Jokic, the three-time MVP who is averaging a triple-double this season, was primarily guarded by Towns — and was held to 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in 32 minutes for the Nuggets (9-7).

“We understand what happened in Utah. We wanted to get back to our standards, especially against a team like this,” Towns said. “If anyone knows, I know the MVP. You want to go out there and play your best basketball against the best.

“Defensively I thought we did a great job tonight and offensively it was obviously a historic night for our offense. Both sides of the ball worked today.”

Anunoby, who is averaging 21.5 points over the Nov. 13 games, made his first four shots (including two 3s) and scored 12 points in the first quarter.

Towns drained a 3-pointer and a down-the-lane dunk early in the second, and his second trey extended the cushion to 21 less than three minutes into the quarter.

Towns mainly guarded Jokic, but Anunoby later denied the six-time All-Star and went the distance for a layup. He also collected a long feed from Josh Hart after a steal for an uncontested dunk and reached 20 points before halftime as the Knicks entered the break ahead, 76-53, matching their highest scoring half of the season.

Anunoby broke free for two more dunks early in the third to push the lead to 26, and the Nuggets never got closer than 17 after that.

Anunoby, whose previous career-high was a 36-point performance for the Raptors against the Knicks in 2021, set a new personal mark with two more three-pointers late in the session for a 113-87 lead entering the final quarter.

“It’s cool to score 40 points, but it’s better to win,” Anunoby said. “What did we win with, by twenty something? I’m happier with that.”