Win Over LeBron James, Lakers Boosts Knicks in Power Rankings

The New York Knicks are enjoying a six-game win streak after beating the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Sacramento Kings, Toronto Raptors, Portland Trail Blazers and, most recently, the Los Angeles Lakers.

The winds have pushed the Knicks back up to second place in the Eastern Conference standings and to No. 8 in NBA.com writer John Schuhmann's power rankings.

"The Knicks have rewarded those who didn’t panic, following a 2-9 stretch with six straight wins. That has them back in second place in the East, with some big matchups coming this week," Schuhmann wrote.

"With their win in Toronto last week, the Knicks are 7-4 within the top six in the East, set to play two more big road games this coming weekend. They have a win over the Celtics at home, but have allowed 134 points per 100 possessions as they’ve gone 0-2 in Detroit and Boston thus far."

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns reacts during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Knicks Moving Up in Power Rankings

The teams that ranked ahead of the Knicks in the power rankings are the Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit Pistons.

The Knicks have been up and down all season long, especially on the defensive end. However, the team has seen an uptick during this latest win streak.

"Through their first 43 games, the Knicks held their opponent under a point per possession just once," Schuhmann wrote.

"But they’ve done it five times over this six-game winning streak, climbing from 18th to 12th defensively in the course of 12 days. Much of the improvement is the opponents shooting just 27.1% from 3-point range over the six games, but the Knicks have also been forcing a lot more turnovers (16.6 per 100 possessions) while fouling less. Their defensive rebounding percentage has also seen a significant jump."

With just six games left before the All-Star break, the team will have some winnable games against the Washington Wizards and Indiana Pacers, but they will be tested as well, facing off against the Nuggets, Pistons, Boston Celtics, and Philadelphia 76ers, all of whom are currently in the playoff picture in their respective conferences.

If the Knicks can continue to play well on the defensive end to close out the first half of the season, they can go into the second half with a lot of momentum to try and claw at the heels of the Pistons, who are in first place by 5.5 games at the start of the month.

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