For the first time since the 2012-13 “Knickstape” era, the New York Knicks have gone undefeated at the Garden through their first seven home games after Tuesday night’s 133-120 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
After their 2-3 start to the first five games of the season, the Knicks’ growing pains under a new coaching staff seem to have already passed. Their offense has begun to click and has continued rolling, winning five straight, bringing their record to 7-3. They sit second in the Eastern Conference, only behind their 2025 first-round playoff matchup, the Detroit Pistons.
Their last five wins have been in dominant fashion, all of which were double-digit victories. The Knicks are pounding their opponents on the offensive side of the ball, scoring 130-plus points in three straight games for the first time in franchise history.
Still, as head coach Mike Brown acknowledged after the game, there’s room for improvement.
“I thought the first half tonight we were really good. We had plenty of ball reversals, we touched the paint multiple times. We sprayed it. I thought, offensively, we looked really good in the first half,” he said. “The second half, we didn’t move the ball as much. We didn’t space the floor as much. … Our decisions weren’t quick in the second half.”
Last night was one of their most dominant performances to date, knocking down a season-high 22 threes on 40% shooting, just two shots shy of their franchise record of 24 threes in a single game. At the end of the third quarter, the Knicks already had 114 points, their most in three quarters as a team since 2008.
Jalen Brunson had his fifth 30-plus point game of the season and had his most efficient shooting game of the year, going 11-for-19 from the field and knocking down a team-high six threes on 66.7% shooting from long range.
Mikal Bridges continues to be the unsung hero of the team with excellent showings on both sides of the ball. He was second on the team in scoring last night with 22 points, along with three three-pointers, and racked up a season-high four steals against the Grizzlies. The guard is quietly having his best performance from long range of his career, averaging a career-high 2.7 threes per game on an extremely efficient 47.4% clip.
Despite being second to the Pistons in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks have been by far the best-performing team in the East by net rating. Their +9.5 net rating is fourth in the league, over four points ahead of Detroit’s +5.3 net rating.
This historic offensive streak for the Knicks isn’t just a bit of luck with knocking down shots. Mike Brown has completely evolved the philosophy of this team’s offense. They are currently the best three-point shooting team in the league. The Knicks are tied with the Cavaliers for most three-pointers made at 17.0 per game, but are shooting it at a more efficient 38.5% compared to Cleveland’s 36.1%. New York is averaging 44.1 attempts per game from behind the arc, well over 10 attempts more than last year’s mark of 34.0 per game under Tom Thibodeau.
It’s not just from behind the three-point line that the Knicks are evolving how their offense is played. They’re becoming a well-oiled machine, with consistent ball movement and contributions from everyone down the bench. New York is averaging 310.9 passes per game, a +29.7 increase from last year’s mark of 281.2 per game. With new bench additions, the Knicks’ bench scoring has also drastically increased, averaging a steady 31.9 points from their second unit compared to last year’s 19.9.
Their offense is in an excellent position right now. If Brown and this Knicks squad can consistently keep up these types of offensive performances, they’re set to be one of the scariest teams not only just in the East, but in the entire NBA.
The Knicks look to continue their historic offensive streak and stay undefeated at home as they face the Orlando Magic tonight at the Garden.
