DALLAS — As the Knicks packed for Memphis with their three-game winning streak and continued hopes of a playoff miracle, questions of their legitimacy inevitably circulated.
Is this a mirage? Did the Knicks and Julius Randle really turn a corner? Is it safe to jump into the believe pool again? Maybe just dip in a toe?
Obviously, three straight wins isn’t worthy of love letters or a parade near the end of a disastrous season. But to hear coach Tom Thibodeau explain it, the positive trends started before the victories, just after the All-Star break.
“I tell the players, when we came back from the break, the Miami game, the two Philly games, the Phoenix game. Like each game I thought we played really well,” the coach said Wednesday night after the Knicks pummeled the Mavericks. “We didn’t have a whole lot to show for it, but I thought we were playing good basketball. Now we’re starting to scratch out the wins. We’ve just got to keep going, take it day by day, concentrate on improvement, keep getting better. We’ve been emphasizing all year how important it is to be mentally tough when you’re facing adversity. That’s what we’re doing.”
By claiming the Knicks “played really well” without results, Thibodeau was citing the four straight defeats out of the All-Star break, when they squandered double-digit leads to three of the NBA’s best teams (including the Sixers twice). The worst collapse was probably in Phoenix, where they blew a 14-point advantage in the fourth quarter. Or, it might’ve been in Philly.
The Knicks rallied after such disheartening results, rather than sulk away the rest of their Western Conference road trip. They pounded the Clippers. They launched a comeback in Sacramento. On Wednesday night, they annihilated the Mavericks.
“Closing the games out. That’s all we’re doing different,” RJ Barrett said. “The past couple of games before that, we would have a lead and lose it. The difference is now is finishing the games off.”
There are two schools of thought on blowing games in fourth quarters, as the Knicks so aptly accomplished in February. Either they played well enough to build a big lead, or their superior opponent simply waited until the important part to dial up its focus and effort.
For much of this season, it was easier to think the Knicks were just inferior. Over the entirety of January and February, for instance, they averaged the fewest fourth-quarter points in the NBA.
But their last three games bucked the trend. The Knicks outscored the Clippers, Kings and Mavericks by a combined 34 points in fourth quarters. They moved to within 3 1/2 games of the final play-in spot with 16 to play, chasing Kristaps Porzingis of the Wizards and Trae Young of the Hawks, still the two biggest enemies in MSG.
The Knicks also have an opportunity Friday night in Memphis to reinforce that this stretch is something to be excited about. The Grizzlies (45-22) are among the NBA’s best, and the Knicks still have a lot to prove.
“It’s another test. Look, they’re a great team,” Thibodeau said. “They’re playing great basketball. They’re fast. They got a number of good players and obviously [Ja Morant].”
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