KNICK OF TIME

In a league replete with rotten teams, the New York Knicks have risen to the bottom.

They have the fewest wins in the NBA (six) and the most losses (36) and that’s while playing in the Atlantic Division, in which only one of five teams is above .500. But the Knicks have something this day that they did not have going into Monday night’s game with the New Orleans Pelicans – that precious sixth victory.

By beating the Pelicans 99-92 at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks ended a 16-game losing streak, the longest in franchise history. They also won for the first time since Dec. 12 and stopped a streak of nine consecutive beatings by 10 points or more.

Not that it was easy. Nothing is for this scrambled franchise. After building an early 15-point lead, the Knicks saw it shrink to one but the Pelicans never scored again after getting the margin to that single skinny digit. So the Knicks won at home for the first time since Nov. 22, when they managed to beat the Philadelphia 76ers, their Atlantic Division compatriots and the (proud???) owners of the NBA’s third-worst record (8-33).

The longest losing streak now in the NBA is five games, shared by the Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Lakers.

What are the Knicks’ chances for a second straight win? Oddly enough, pretty good. They’re playing the 76ers on the road on Wednesday.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .