The Knicks are exorcising their demons

Remember the old Houses of Horror for the ‘Bockers? The Tom Thibodeau era has eliminated many of them.

The late-2010s Knicks were not fun to watch.

I don’t need to remind you, but if my future grandkids asked me to describe that harrowing moment in my basketball fandom with one photo, it would be this one:

Look at that big ol’ smile on Fizdale’s face. The Knicks got pummeled, 132-88, on December 2, 2019. On that terrible day, in that terrible season, this shiny dome is grinning with a 38-point deficit. This was the lowest point after an offseason of failure as the Knicks were about to fall to 4-17. Fizdale would be fired days later.

The Bucks were one of many teams that tortured our beloved Knicks while they were in shambles. A lot of those teams are reaping what they sow of late, with the Knicks beginning to inflict the same hurt that was put upon us.

Take the Toronto Raptors, for example.

Last night, in a game that should never have been as close as it was, the Knicks secured their second consecutive season-series sweep over the Raptors and their eighth consecutive head-to-head victory. The last time either of those occurred was from 1995-97 when the Knicks beat the expansion Raptors eight straight times over 2.5 seasons.

Up until recently, the Raptors had destroyed the Knicks of late. The Knicks went 6-18 against them from November 2004 to October 2010. After a brief respite, the Raptors obliterated the Knicks to the tune of a 26-7 record from 2014-23.

This included a ghastly 1-17 stretch from January 2016 to March 2021. This included typical blowouts (122-95 on 2/22/16), blown leads (13-point blown halftime lead on 2/27/17), and, actually, a ton of blowouts. Of the 17 losses in that span, 13 were by double digits and seven by 20+. A revolving door of DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, Kawhi Leonard, and Fred VanVleet tortured the Knicks.

Since last season, the Knicks are 8-0 after being 8-26 in their previous 34 meetings.

They’ve won four straight north of the border. They had won just four of the previous twenty meetings in Toronto.

But, they’re not the only ones who’ve had this Knicks’ revival coming.

Denver Nuggets

The Joker hasn’t been nearly as successful against our Knicks as of late, but his Nuggets ran roughshod on New York’s squad prior, especially in Denver.

When the Knicks waltzed into Denver for an iconic win in November 2022, it was their first win in the Mile-High City since November 8, 2006.

Since losing 14 straight in Denver, they’ve won 2 of 3, including this year’s blowout that featured a 40-ball from OG Anunoby.

The Nuggets, from New Year’s 2015 to the end of the 2021-22 season, went 14-1 against the Knicks.

Since then? The Knicks have won five of six, including three straight at home. They’ve even handed Denver two of their worst losses over the past few years in the last two seasons.

Brooklyn Nets

The Knicks aren’t cool, right KD?

Well, they really weren’t. This one doesn’t take place in the late-2010s, but rather in recent years.

The Knicks and Nets were good at the same time in the early-2010s and bad at the same time later, but the Nets resurged in 2019 and then added a superteam. They then destroyed their rivals in more ways than one on the court.

While only one meeting in the KD-Kyrie era ended in a blowout, the Nets routinely bullied the Knicks in multiple ways.

Kyrie’s game-winner over a rookie RJ?

What about the entire 2021-22 season, which was three separate embarrassments?

KD calling Evan Fournier too small during a 53-point demolition:

The 28-point blown lead in MSG, the worst choke in Knicks history:

Oh yeah, we also choked another 20+ point lead later that season.

All in all, a nine-game losing streak. It got bad enough that Nic Claxton opened his mouth:

The Nets are 0-9 against the Knicks since he’s said this. KD, Kyrie, and Harden are all gone. They traded their best player here.

Hate to see it.

Milwaukee Bucks

You thought that blowout earlier was a one-off? When the Greek Freak came to town, it was usually devastating for the Knicks.

Beginning with a 104-93 defeat in March 2017 in which Giannis had 32-13-7-4, the Knicks dropped 11 of 12 against the Bucks and were meticulously tortured throughout.

Remember February 6, 2018, the official end of the Kristaps Porzingis era?

(Side note: it’s really jarring how many players’ tenures end unknowingly with an injury. KP with the Knicks, Randle with the Knicks, Luka with the Mavs, even AD with the Lakers)

What about just 14 game minutes later, when Giannis hurdled Tim Hardaway Jr?

How about the baffling Christmas game where Kevin Knox led us in scoring?

The one win in that span was when Knox and Emmanuel Mudiay combined for 54 in an overtime win. Man, that must’ve been embarrassing for them.

This domination is actually two-pronged. After the Knicks finally turned the corner with three wins in four meetings from December 2020 to November 2021, it swung back violently.

The Bucks won nine consecutive meetings, including two NBA Cup games. The first was a heartbreaking end to an emphatic comeback, the second was a demolition in the quarterfinal.

The streak finally ended on Christmas, when the underdog Knicks rallied behind 38 from Julius Randle and a pair of 20-point performances by RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, who’d be traded five days later. That has started an active four-game winning streak by the Knicks, the longest vs Milwaukee since 2013.

Philadelphia 76ers

Finally, a team we all love to beat, our I-95 rivals.

Both of these teams were terrible from 2013-16, so the Knicks won a good bit. Back then, the Sixers had guys like checks notes Ish Smith and Furkan Aldemir starting. Who is Furkan Aldemir?

On Christmas Day 2017, the Sixers beat the Knicks in MSG, 105-98 despite Enes Kanter’s 31-22 performance. That would start a grueling four-year stretch of Philly dominance over the Knicks.

Swept in 2017-18.

Swept in 2018-19.

Swept in 2019-20.

Swept in 2020-21.

Ben Simmons, who debuted in 2017, started 13-0 against the Knicks. The Sixers won fifteen consecutive meetings. The story of these meetings varied.

On 3/15/2018, the Knicks led by twelve with 4:00 left in the third. The Sixers ended on a 43-23 run.

On November 20, 2019, yours truly was in attendance at Wells Fargo Center to watch Ben Simmons drain his first career 3-pointer.

On January 18, 2020, Tobias Harris extended the streak to eleven with this game-winning triple:

In the final game of the streak, Julius Randle hit Kawhi-esque 3 to send the game to overtime, only for the Knicks to blow a four-point OT lead, with Tobias Harris hitting the game-winning free throws with five seconds left.

Finally, a replenished Knicks (or so we thought) went on national TV and ended the streak with a 112-99 win on October 26, 2021.

Since then, the Knicks are a respectable 9-5 against Philly, not including the memorable playoff series last offseason.

For me, the turnaround vs the Sixers will always be the sweetest. Now, excuse me while I rewatch this series.