NEW YORK – The New York Knicks extended their winning streak to four games on Sunday night with a 134-98 takedown of the Brooklyn Nets. The crosstown visitors, led by Michael Porter Jr.'s 22-point first-half outburst, only trailed by 15 points at halftime. The Knicks shut down Porter Jr., and the Nets, in the second half. New York held the ex-Denver Nugget to three points in the half as they cruised to the win.
The streak of wins lines up perfectly with the Knicks' longest home stand since 2013. They have won all four games to start, leaving the team with a 6-0 start at home to begin the season. The streak is a welcome change of pace from the three-game losing streak that led up to it. After winning each of its first two games, New York dropped three straight on the road against the Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, and Chicago Bulls. Those represent all three of the 6-3 squad's losses thus far.
The Knicks lost the third quarter in their first four games, including against both the Heat and Bucks. This allowed concern to build that the team was developing a habit of coming out of the break slowly. Brown took the opportunity after the game to point out what the peaks and valleys of an 82-game regular season can look like in real time.
“I've said this before, you know, we had lost three in a row and a lot of people thought the world was- the sky was falling,” Brown said of himself and the players he recently began coaching. He went on to offer that he, like the players, deserves criticism for the losses in all three road games.
“We hadn't been together long. I'll be the first to admit: I didn't know when to put Josh [Hart] in, when to take him out. I didn't know when to put Mitch [Robinson] in, when to take him out, you know, I was still figuring out our rotations, and how we're going to play, and all that other stuff,” Brown admitted.
Knicks' new coach says consistency is key to championship hopes
Brown's accountability might be refreshing to Knicks fans who have been seeking more transparency from the organization. However, like any coaching position in professional sports, Brown and his team will be judged by wins and losses. More specifically, when those wins and losses occur, and how the team looks on the way to those outcomes.
Reporters asked the coach after Sunday night's win if something changed about the team's halftime approach. The Knicks held the Nets scoreless for the first several minutes of the second half and won the third quarter 35-17. Brown told reporters that the team is adjusting, learning as they play, in hopes of building a strong foundation together.
“We just need time and, again, I thought I was bad—and we were bad as a team—in Miami. We went to, I think, Milwaukee next, and, thought we were pretty good in the first half. We kind of fell apart a little bit in the second half,” Brown recalled. “Then we go to Chicago, not as good in the first half, pretty good in the second half. Again, it's not going to happen in one night, we may go on another three-game losing streak. We may mess up in the third quarter. Who knows?”
The Knicks' new leading voice was brought in to help the team reach the next level. In this case, that would be an NBA Finals appearance and a potential victory. It may not happen in Brown's first year with the organization, but the coach has maintained from early on that establishing the right habits begins from day one and is crucial to putting together a winner.
“If you want to be great in life, you got to find a way to be consistent,” Brown said postgame. “That's the biggest thing and that's what we've been preaching and talking about, and all we did was just address our third quarters…Ty [Yeaton]'s our strength coach, he's not stretching 'em any longer or whatever, our guys are going out and just playing, and they're locked in.”
