Back on April 9th, the NY Knicks were coming off of many dreadful losses.
With a 25-27 record, the team was 1-5 in their last 6 games. The team ran out of fuel down the stretch against the Miami Heat on March 29th and followed that game up two days later with a complete stinker against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Despite an 11 point lead at the start of the fourth quarter, the Knicks were outscored 32-20 in the final frame and lost 102-101, and fell to .500.
On April 2nd against the Dallas Mavericks, the NY Knicks’ two-point lead after three quarters was quickly an afterthought, as Luka Doncic took over and stomped out the Knicks. Another tough loss. New York came back the following night and promptly walloped the Detroit Pistons by 44, but the win was short-lived. Another two close losses came at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics.
Also on April 9th, with the hopes of avoiding the play-in tournament seeming to slip away in the midst of a gut-wrenching stretch of games, I tweeted shortly ahead of the Knicks matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies:
The Knicks need to beat Memphis tonight. This should be the start of a 3 game winning streak featuring Toronto and shorthanded Lakers. No excuses
— James Ryder (@TheRydeShow) April 9, 2021
We all know that the NY Knicks second-half schedule was one of the toughest in the NBA, but the team certainly was making it harder for themselves at the time. A three-game stretch against Memphis, the Toronto Raptors, and the Los Angeles Lakers absent LeBron James and Anthony Davis looked like a great place to begin getting back on track.
I happened to predict that three-game winning streak, but I don’t mean to toot my own horn (kind of, lol).
If anything, my prediction put the situation into further context; the Knicks were a playoff team who weren’t playing like it. This was a crucial stretch of games, and it was more than fair to expect the team to string together some wins which they desperately needed. It was both an ultimatum and a plea for help.
But nobody saw what was coming next.
Suddenly, the New York Knicks were the hottest team in the NBA, winning 9 straight games. That finally came to an end on Monday vs the Phoenix Suns, but the streak still deserves to be celebrated.
And so, let’s celebrate by remembering. Here is a look back at each of the 9 games, ranked from last to first, starting with the easiest dub.