On Wednesday night, the Knicks were the fresher team who was able to knock off a tired victim at home. On Thursday, they’ll reverse roles as they try to extend their winning streak to five games in Memphis against the struggling Grizzlies.
The Knicks’ four game winning streak has raised their record to 6-4. It hasn’t been pretty all of the time, but early in this whirlwind season, winning streaks may be few and far between for every team. Wednesday’s 85-79 win over the Philadelphia 76ers was impressive in that the Sixers had won six straight coming in and had dominated inferior opponents. The Knicks had played some close games against the cellar-dwellers, but were able to hold the high-scoring Sixers to a season-low 79 points. Some of it was surely the tired legs of the Sizers, playing their third game in as many nights, but the Knicks have shown an ability to win low-scoring, close games as of late.
Thursday’s matchup could play out in a similar fashion, as the Grizzlies are struggling offensively at the moment. During their current three game losing streak , which has put them at 3-6 overall, they’re averaging just 87.3 points per game. With Zach Randolph out for a while due to a knee injury, the scoring load has fallen on Rudy Gay. Gay is averaging over 16 points a game but has not shot the ball entirely well.
Last season, the Knicks had a memorable win at FedEx Forum, defeating the Grizzlies by two when Carmelo Anthony hit a jumper with under a second left. In all, Anthony has had a lot of success in the building, averaging 31.8 points in his last five games in Memphis.