The New York Knicks have been one of the worst teams in the NBA since the start of 2026. With just two wins in late January, they haven't found any sort of rhythm since winning the league's NBA Cup tournament.
Monday's action against the Dallas Mavericks at home was an opportunity to get it right. Jalen Brunson was back in the mix after missing the last few games with an ankle injury.
The Mavericks have injury concerns of their own, putting the Knicks in a prime position to snap their losing streak. Instead, the Knicks ended up losing. They didn't give themselves a shot all game, and the New York crowd at Madison Square Garden voiced its displeasure by raining boos on the team.
How Does Jalen Brunson Feel?
No hard feelings.
“I’d be booing us, too," he told reporters after the game. "Straight up.”
The star guard is frustrated. Being the face of the operation, he knows that a lot of the team's concerns will fall on him since he's the All-Star in the building.
Brunson checked in for 34 minutes on Monday and shot 9-24 from the field to score 22 points. He added six assists and turned the ball over just twice. The Mavericks defeated the Knicks 114-97.
The last time the Knicks won a game was during their January 11 battle against the Portland Trail Blazers on the road. Since then, they've dropped four more games.
The Knicks still possess the third seed in the Eastern Conference with a 25-18 record. A strong start to the year allowed them to get a nice lead in the conference race. Now, they trail the Boston Celtics by 4.5 games and the Detroit Pistons by 6.5 games. The Toronto Raptors are right behind the Knicks with a 25-19 record.
The Knicks will get one day off before returning to the court on Wednesday. Once again, they'll face their crowd, who is hungry for a win. Since they are playing a rebuilding Brooklyn Nets team, the Knicks will enter the game as the favorites. But recent history says they aren't much better than anybody else amid this current slump.
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