By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
There is just no stopping the surging New York Knicks after the Eastern Conference team extended its longest winning streak to eight straight games in the ongoing NBA regular season.
New York protected its home court against the Utah Jazz in an inter-conference NBA showdown, 118-103, last January 31, 2024.
With another victory, the Knicks became the best team of the month after ending its January campaign with a dominant 14-2 win-loss record.
New York’s current eight-game rampage is also their best of the season so far and with another victory, they will have the chance to equalize the Los Angeles Clippers and the Orlando Magic who both achieved a nine-game winning streak from November to December last year.
The Knicks immediately dictated the pace of the game as early as the first quarter as their hot-shooting helped them establish a 29-22 lead.
Despite Collin Sexton’s scoring resurgence in the second, the duo of Donte DiVincenzo and Jalen Brunson exploded for the Knicks, steering them to an eight-point lead heading into the second half.
New York then left the Jazz behind in the third quarter as they dropped 36 points, still led by their money man DiVincenzo who went unconscious from the three-point line.
The Jazz gave one final push after scoring several buckets in the break but the Knicks’ barrage of treys proved to be too much to handle for Utah.
DiVincenzo had his second-best scoring performance of the ongoing season after erupting for 33 points built from nine made three-pointers alongside five rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
Meanwhile, Brunson contributed 29 markers, nine assists, and three rebounds in the win and further extended his streak of scoring 20+ points to nine straight games.
New York is still without superstar power forward Julius Randle who suffered a right shoulder dislocation several days ago.
The Knicks will look to tie the Clippers and the Magic’s best winning streak of the season if they prevail over the Indiana Pacers on February 2, 2024.
