Dating back to March 11 when the Knicks defeated the Utah Jazz 134-107 on the road, each of their past three opponents had losing records (they’ve played the Indiana Pacers twice).
Same for the next three, beginning tomorrow night versus the Nets in Brooklyn followed by the Washington Wizards on Sunday at Madison Square Garden and the New Orleans Pelicans next Tuesday at MSG. In addition to the Jazz, they have taken down the Indiana Pacers (101-92 on the road last Friday), the Golden State Warriors (110-107 at the Garden this past Sunday) and the Pacers again (136-110 at home on Tuesday) in succession.
Tuesday’s game had a heightened meaning for Brooklyn native guard Jose Alvarado, who the Knicks acquired in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans on February 5, made his first-ever start for the team he grew up rooting for. He filled in admirably for starting point guard Jalen Brunson, who sat out with right ankle management and a cervical strain on the right side of his neck. Alvarado finished with 16 points and 10 assists, a solid double double.
“I got in and first thing when they said that [I was going to start], I was like oh wow, I’m in the Garden, going to start. It was pretty special. I just got my mind ready like I always do. I knew it was going to be special to call my name in the Garden like I said.”
The Knicks have won four straight and were 45-25 when the NBA schedule tipped-off last night. They were the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, just one game behind the No. 2 Boston Celtics, who were 45-23. The Knicks were positioned two and a half games ahead of the No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers, who were 42-27 and five below the top seeded Detroit Pistons, who had the third best record in the league at 49-19, trailing only the Western Conference’s Oklahoma City Thunder (54-15) and the San Antonio Spurs (51-18), who are a blistering 19-2 since February 1. One of the Spurs’ losses was to the Knicks (114-89) at the Garden on March 1.
Looking ahead, the Knicks’ schedule will get much tougher to end the regular season. After hosting the Pelicans next Tuesday, seven of their nine remaining games will be against teams that currently are either playoff or Play-In Tournament squads. Included in that group will be the Thunder on the road on March 29, the Rockets in Houston on March 31 and what will build up as a highly anticipated and perhaps consequential meeting with the Celtics at MSG on April 9.
For now, the Knicks’ objective is to continue to play winning basketball, especially on the defensive end of the court, and get their core players in the best possible health — another determining factor for how deep they’ll go in the postseason.