Knicks find recipe for breaking losing streak

After a four-game losing streak, the New York Knicks needed to find a way to start winning again. They found a great recipe: playing the Brooklyn Nets.

The struggling Knicks offense put up 120 points Wednesday night while the struggling Knicks defense held the Nets to the lowest NBA point total since 2016 in their 120-66 win.

Knicks have been one of worst teams of 2026

Before Wednesday, the Knicks were 2-9 since Dec. 31, ringing in the new year with uninspiring play on both sides of the ball. The Knicks scored only 109.4 points per game, third-worst in the NBA during that stretch. They had the league's worst field-goal percentage, took the sixth-fewest free throws and were outscored by eight points per game.

New York's defense wasn't much better, ranking third-worst in defensive rating. Some of its struggles felt like a lack of intensity, as shown by giving up 18 fast-break points per game.

Neither side of the ball was a problem against the 12-30 Nets. The Knicks scored 38 points in the first quarter and shot 10-of-12 on two-pointers as they raced out to an early 18-point lead. The offense slowed down in the second quarter, but the Knicks defense never let up, holding Brooklyn to 29.1 percent shooting for the game. Even with only Knicks reserves in the game, the Nets scored just 10 points in the final quarter.

Can Knicks build on their lopsided win?

A 54-point margin was the most lopsided victory in Knicks franchise history and should go a long way to settling down criticism of the team's fit, effort and head coach. For all their struggles in January, the Knicks remain in third place in the Eastern Conference, just 1.5 games behind the Boston Celtics in second.

They've got a very manageable slate ahead of them. New York gets two days off before a big road game against the Philadelphia 76ers, then gets two more days off before hosting the 12-33 Sacramento Kings. It gets the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers at home on a day's rest, and only has short road trips to Toronto and Washington, D.C.

It's a two-week stretch of just six games, where a 5-1 record is well within reach. That should silence some of the worried chatter surrounding the team. While the recent struggles are concerning, the relentless play of the reserves and starters alike on Wednesday answers many of the questions about the team-wide effort.

It might be time for panic again should the well-rested Knicks drop their next two games. But when a team wins by a historic margin, it might mean that the recent worry about this preseason title contender has been overblown.