King James Crowns Knicks Ends Winning Streak
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Andrew Rosario
It had to end sometime. The New York Knicks were coming off their finest month in close to 20 years when they finished January 14-2 which included a 9 game winning streak. Head coach Tom Thibodeau was named coach of the month and both guard Jalen Brunson and forward Julius Randle were selected as reserves to the All Star roster for the Eastern Conference. They hosted Le Bron James and the Los Angeles Lakers last Saturday as the game was broadcast on prime time television. Unfortunately, James and his crew did not allow the streak to reach 10 as they held off the Knicks coming away with a 113-105 victory. James played 40 minutes leading the Lakers with 24 points. Guard Austin Reeves chipped in 22. Brunson continued his streak of scoring 30 or more points, finishing with 36. His college teammate, Dante DiVincenzo added 26. As a group, New York shot a dismal 29% from 3-point land missing 25 of 25 attempts.
“We didn’t make enough plays on both sides of the ball,” said Brunson after the game. “Obviously shots didn’t fall for us but we had good looks. Los Angeles took control of the game in the final quarter, outscoring the Knicks 33-19. New York had a 6-point lead entering the fourth quarter when their shooting went cold. At one, the went nearly 7 minutes without scoring a backet.
The Knicks look to start another streak when they begin a 3 game home stretch hosting Minnesota Tuesday, Dallas Thursday and Indiana Saturday night.
