NEW YORK — After their latest win over Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs — their 15th victory in 19 games — the Knicks dismissed criticisms that they are thriving against a soft schedule.
Beginning with the win over a Zion Williamson-less Pelicans squad on Dec. 21, the Knicks are playing five of seven games against four of the NBA’s five worst teams: the Pelicans, Raptors, Jazz and Wizards twice. Those teams are all in the Tankathon for Duke freshman Cooper Flagg and Rutgers stars Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey
Only two opponents during this stretch, the Spurs (15-15) and Magic (19-12), were over .500 before facing the Knicks, as the New York Post noted.
Still, the Knicks can only play who’s on the schedule and have won 15 of 19 since a 5-6 start. At 20-10, the Knicks sit in the No. 3 position in the Eastern Conference, just two games back of the Celtics (22-8).
“They’re NBA teams, the best of the best,” Karl-Anthony Towns said after the Knicks’ 117-114 win over the Spurs which was highlighted by Mikal Bridges going off for 41 points to help offset Wembanyama’s 42.
“I mean, any night, that’s what makes NBA basketball so special. These are the best basketball players in the world. Any night, you know, you could lose. These teams all play with pride, and we had to execute…Those teams are the best of the best.
“So we got in some dog fights, and we had to be unified and utilize the lessons we learned all season and in training camp to find ourselves [crossing the] finish line. [We] never take any team in this NBA for granted.”
Bridges, who came within one point of his career-high of 42 points, said the Knicks are simply trying to “get better” with each game.
“I think we just look at each other and just see if we get better or not,” he said. “I think that’s the biggest thing. And I think we took a jump this month, and, you know, every day, just keep trying to get better. You know, we want to win, that’s the main goal. But, sometimes just getting better is also what we’re looking for. So happy to win with also getting better.”
The Knicks improved to 9-2 in December, with two games left in the month against the hapless Wizards (4-23), who are trying to get “in the bag for Cooper Flagg.”
Told that his team had won 14 of 18 — actually 15 of 19 including the Christmas Day win — Towns said, “That’s pretty damn good.”
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Please consider supporting us with a subscription. Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.
