Knicks win streak reaches 7 in a row
The Knicks outlast the Pelicans, 121-116
The Knicks have found their rhythm and are clicking like a brand-new metronome. The win over the Washington Wizards on Sunday improved their record to 47-25, and brought the Knicks within striking distance of the 47-24 Boston Celtics, who still hold the second seed in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks’ path to the second seed is clear: if they win their remaining games, including the game vs. the Celtics on April 9th, they will finish no worse than second in the Conference. Any loss paired with a Celtic win, however, could change that trajectory.
But losing games isn’t something that’s happened lately. Since January 21st, the Knicks have the 2nd-best record in the NBA, at 22-7.1 The Knicks are also one of only three teams in the NBA with both a Top 5 offense and a Top 5 defense.2 After a mid-season slump, it’s encouraging to see the Knicks playing some of their best basketball of the season with the Playoffs approaching.
They’ve taken advantage of a relatively easy mid-March schedule to win six games in a row. They have only two other such streaks this season. The first was a 7-win streak from December 3rd to the 18th, which included winning the NBA Cup,3 and an 8-win stretch from January 21st to February 4th.
Game Night
The Knicks were hosting the struggling New Orleans Pelicans (25-47, 11th in the Western Conference).
Knicks-Pelicans won’t be mistaken for a “rivalry”, but before this game started, the teams had met forty-eight times in the regular season, with each team winning half the games. The Knicks had to win the last three matchups just to even up the series, so this one would be for bragging rights.
Seating Chart
The Pacers were a cheap ticket, but a day game, which is a draw in and of itself because more families can attend. A Tuesday night game against the humble Pelicans had no such qualifiers. People were practically giving these seats away. My wife and I waited as long as possible before purchasing our tickets. We bought our tickets with less than twenty minutes to tip-off. Ten minutes later, the tickets were in my account, and ten minutes after that, we got to our seats in Section 118, row 22, as the game began.
Why wait until the last minute? The seats we got for this game were in the Lower Bowl, and since we’d like to own a home someday, it was just our first time sitting in the Lower Bowl at MSG. Thanks to this strategy, we saved a ton of money. The same tickets we paid $288 each for at the last minute are selling for $737.80 apiece for Friday’s game against the Chicago Bulls.4
As a bonus, these seats came with in-seat dining options, which we used to order some French Fries and a gigantic hard seltzer. Row 22 is the last row in the lower bowl, so we were able to stand without blocking anyone else’s view.
Injury Report
The Pels were healthy while the Knicks were without Miles McBride5 and Landry Shamet, who has been nursing a bone bruise in his right knee, which he sustained in Friday’s game versus the Nets.
Game Notes
In what has become a familiar pattern, the Knicks started the game slowly. They quickly fell behind by six points and spent much of the quarter catching up. The Pelicans kept them at bay for most of the period and held a 28-27 lead with 2:54 remaining. From that point on, it was as if a switch flipped. The final three minutes of the quarter were pure Knicks Theatre. They scored fifteen unanswered points to end the period, punctuated by threes from OG Anunoby, Jalen Brunson, and OG again at the buzzer, bringing the home crowd to its feet. The Knicks led 42-28 after one. Anunoby led the Knicks with 13 points in the quarter and made three of the four three-point shots he took. Brunson tacked on 10 points and 3 assists in the frame.
The Pels went on a 12-2 run to start the second quarter, forcing a New York timeout. The timeout did little to stem the tide as the Pelicans extended their run to 19-2, retaking the lead, 46-44, with 7:05 remaining. For the second time, the Knicks found the switch they needed to flip. OG Anunoby made his fourth three-pointer to give the Knicks back the lead 51-49.6 He handed out three assists in the quarter to propel the Knicks to the locker room leading 66-60 at the half. Anunoby led all players with 18 points at the half.
The Pelicans, to their credit, did not fold in the second half.7 Instead, they hung around and eventually tied the score at 79. The Pels then took the lead on a corner three from Karlo Matkovic with 4:47 left in the third quarter. A few possessions later, the Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III splashed back-to-back threes to give them an 89-85 lead with under 3 minutes to play in the quarter.
By the way, respect to Trey Murphy III. If your legal name has not one, but two synonyms for the three-point shot, and then you actually make it to the NBA as a well-respected three-point shooter, that’s nominative determinism.
For the third time in as many quarters, the Knicks fought back. After Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson made consecutive jump shots to tie the game at 89 with 1:50 remaining in the quarter, the Pelicans’ Seddiq Bey drove to the basket and attempted a lay-up, but got his shot blocked by Mitchell Robinson. On the ensuing possession, Brunson found a cutting Jordan Clarkson in the lane for the lay-in. On the very next play, Brunson threw a no-look alley-oop to Robinson for the slam. 93-92 New York in front. End of period.
To start the fourth quarter, Mohamed Diawara sliced into the lane for a silky-smooth left-handed layup, giving the Knicks a 95-92 lead and appearing as the “Drive of the Game” on the Garden Jumbotron. On the next play, Karl-Anthony Towns received a short pass from Diawara and launched a three-pointer from the top of the key that hit nothing but net. The Knicks led 98-92 with 10:43 to go, leading to a Pelicans timeout.
That’s when things got crazy. Out came the Knicks pep squad. As I was reaching for my phone to snap some photos, I heard my wife behind me say Babe! Babe! A millisecond later, I heard a thwack as something flew by. It was the sound of a T-shirt wrapped into a densely packed projectile slamming into the wall beside me, missing my head by a few inches. At my feet was the holy grail, which I picked up like Mufasa holding up Simba in The Lion King.
Bucket List Alert: T-shirt toss - Acheivement Unlocked!
T-shirts aside, there was still a game to be played, but though the Pels would shrink the lead to an eventual two points, 109-107, the end result never felt in doubt. Brunson scored 15 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, including ten straight points to send the Pelicans back to their native New Orleans habitat.
The Knicks won 121-116, sending their fans home happy, and for the second game in a row, I went home with an extra shirt. The T-shirt deities are smiling on me. I’m smiling back.
Final Thoughts
That makes seven in a row, officially the Knicks’ second-longest winning streak of the season. They’re now practically tied with Boston. The Knicks are off tomorrow, but could rise in the standings if the Celtics lose at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The second seed is vital if the Knicks want to have homecourt advantage in the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
Up Next
The Knicks visit the streaking Charlotte Hornets (37-34, 10th in the East) on Thursday. I would love to visit Charlotte someday, just not this thursday.
I’ll be back at MSG on Friday, April 3rd, when the Chicago Bulls come to town. I don’t plan on spending $737.80, so I’ll be looking for last-minute deals again.
The next and final road game on my calendar will be in Atlanta, on Monday, April 6th.
Until next time, GO NEW YORK, GO NEW YORK, GO!
The Spurs have the best record in that span.
Joining the San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics
The Cup final doesn’t count, so that win-streak was only 6 in a row.
It was sobering to think about other folks spending up to $450 more for the same view.
McBride was on the floor participating in drills during warm-ups but did not play.
He would finish with five made threes on the night.
Or the Knicks, to their discredit, could not pull away.
My favorite MSG Knicks experience yet! Thanks!