NEW YORK _ The losses had begun to pile up and with his lineup changes to accelerate the youth movement, it may not have seemed like Knicks first-year coach David Fizdale was promoting the culture of winning as a habit less than two weeks into the season.
That, he insisted, was not true.
"Oh man, we're fighting for our lives for one," Fizdale said before the start of the Knicks game against the Nets on Monday. "I really want these guys to feel a victory because we've been right there in the battle for a few games. So obviously I'm trying to do everything I can to get these guys a win. I don't want to go out of the plan to try to get that done."
When the Knicks fell behind 11-3 at the start and Fizdale called a timeout just 2:23 into the game, taking a seat in front of the starting unit put in place for the second straight game and staring at them in disbelief for a moment.
Whether it was tired legs from the Nets, who played the night before, or their own wake-up call, the Knicks turned the game around, building leads of as many as 25 points to capture a much-needed 115-96 win at Madison Square Garden.
The win snapped a five-game losing streak and took the stress off a skid that had the potential to stretch far into the season with Indiana coming to the Garden on Wednesday and then the Knicks heading out on the road. But instead, for a night at least, the Knicks got to exhale.
The Knicks could get more positive news as they are expected to have Kevin Knox back for practice Tuesday and possibly even for Wednesday's game against the Pacers.
It may not mean much in a season that promises to have a lot more losses than wins. But it relieved a bit of mounting pressure as the season was heading down a dark path quickly. It wasn't just the losses, but the clear displeasure of Enes Kanter to be pulled from the starting lineup in favor of the youth movement.
Kanter is a free agent at season's end and his resume was heading down its own dark path with a lottery-bound team and a bench role. While he repeatedly mouthed, "I'm going to lead the second unit," he did it while rolling his eyes.
And he made his case when the Knicks started slowly. Kanter, who finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds, piled up 10 points and 12 rebounds in the first half as the Knicks took a 52-44 lead into the intermission. While Mitchell Robinson played less than six minutes in the half as the starting center and Kanter played nearly 17 minutes, Robinson did help spur a third quarter explosion that opened the lead to 85-67 entering the fourth. While Kanter did the dirty work, Robinson got the crowd on its feet as the 7-1 rookie center stole a pass and dribbled the length of the court, taking off far from the rim and dunking to finish the fast break.
Robinson had 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting along with three rebounds, a block and a steal. Frank Ntilikina had his second straight solid outing as the starting point guard, this time piling up 16 points, five rebounds and four assists, and Tim Hardaway Jr. led the Knicks with 25 points.
"I want to keep putting us in that situation," Fizdale said. "But I think that if we can just continue to build our game, really focus on what we do. Because that's really the most important thing right now is getting these guys to understand the ins and outs of our system."
