The New York Knicks are entering the final stretch of their season at home, giving them a chance to show their strength against other teams vying for playoff spots.
The Knicks will continue their five-game homestand on Monday night, facing the rising Memphis Grizzlies in their first meeting of the season.
Both teams had Sunday off after comfortable wins on Saturday. The Knicks beat the Sacramento Kings 143-120, while the Grizzlies defeated the Utah Jazz 125-103.
The Knicks’ victory was their third straight after a 3-6 stretch from January 3-17. During that tough period, New York went 1-4 against teams that were in playoff contention. The top six teams from each conference make the playoffs, while the next four teams compete in a play-in tournament for the last two spots.
So far this season, the Knicks are 8-9 against teams that are in playoff spots and 22-7 against teams that are not. They will have a chance to improve their record against playoff contenders during the final four games of this homestand, where they will face four teams from the top six of the Western Conference.
After playing the third-place Grizzlies, the Knicks will host the fourth-place Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, the fifth-place Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, and the second-place Houston Rockets on February 3.
The Knicks are hopeful that their strong start against the Kings, where they quickly gained a 38-25 lead after the first quarter, signals they are ready for the rest of the homestand after three days off.
“It’s about making the right play every single time, or at least trying to,” said Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson. “And if we don’t, we hold each other accountable and we go forward from there. But all we want is to win and that’s the only thing that matters.”
The Grizzlies, meanwhile, are in top form, riding a six-game winning streak—the longest in the NBA. This is Memphis’ longest winning streak of the season, matching a six-game stretch from November 20 to December 1.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies on Saturday with 28 points, and six players finished in double figures. Memphis has won by at least 10 points in five of their last six games.
Over this streak, 11 different players have scored in double figures, even though star guard Ja Morant has missed two games due to a foot injury and illness.
Rookie center Zach Edey showed off the Grizzlies’ depth with back-to-back double-digit performances, scoring 19 points on Saturday after posting 13 points the night before in a win over New Orleans. These were the first consecutive double-digit games for Edey since December 26-27.
“Just getting back into our offense and getting back comfortable,” Edey said. “We play such a unique style of basketball. It takes a little bit to kind of build yourself into that.”
