Win Streak Lifts Knicks in Power Rankings

The New York Knicks are winners of three straight games as they try and keep pace with the top teams in the Eastern Conference standings.

The winning ways from the past few games are reflected in NBA.com writer John Schuhmann's power rankings. The Knicks now sit at No. 6 after clocking in at No. 7 last week.

"The Knicks struggled to put away the Hawks and Nets early last week, but they’ve followed a 3-6 stretch with three straight wins to stay within two games of the second-place Celtics," Schuhmann writes.

The only teams that ranked higher than the Knicks in the power rankings were the Memphis Grizzlies, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Knicks have won games both by playing good defense and offense. Against the Brooklyn Nets, the Knicks allowed just 95 points, but when playing the Sacramento Kings, they scored 143, blowing them out with their efficiency.

"The bigger issues during the 3-6 stretch were on defense, but it was nice for the Knicks’ second-ranked offense to bust out (143 points on 104 possessions) against Sacramento on Saturday, with all five starters scoring at least 18 points and Josh Hart recording his sixth triple-double of the season. The Knicks are 6-0 (11-1 over the last two seasons) when Hart has recorded a triple-double," Schuhmann writes.

Now, the Knicks face a three-game stretch this week against three Western Conference playoff-bound teams in the Memphis Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers, but history should be on their side.

"Their win over the Kings was the start of five straight games (all at Madison Square Garden) against Western Conference teams with winning records," Schuhmann writes.

"The Knicks have won four of their last five against the Nuggets, with their most efficient offensive performance of the season (145 points on 100 possessions) happening in Denver just before Thanksgiving."