Knicks beat Hawks to end team-record losing streak

The losses had dated to Jan. 4, a stretch of 18 straight games. And at this point, a win wasn’t going to make much difference, other than giving the downtrodden Knicks the chance to retreat to the All-Star break with the gloom of a franchise-record losing streak behind them.

And as they departed — with most of the team bound for a week-long vacation, no one in the All-Star Game and only Kevin Knox and Dennis Smith Jr. heading to Charlotte for any part of the festivities — they left relieved about ending the futility with a 106-91 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

With the Knicks having lost 26 of 27 and 31 of 33 entering the game, Knox described the importance of the victory. “Yeah, it’s great going to All-Star Weekend with a win,” he said, at which point the lights went out in the locker room. Teammates laughed as the rookie waited in the dark before adding, “I’m going to go out there and just have fun, get ready to get back home and have some rest.”

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“It was great, but it wasn’t overreaction,” coach David Fizdale said. “I think they know that we’ve been beating on the door and beating on the door. I think the gratification was getting over the hump finally with our defense.”

“Super-satisfying,” said Smith (19 points), who joined the Knicks 12 games into the streak. “We came in, me and [DeAndre Jordan] came into a situation with a team on a losing streak and obviously it was up to us to change it. It took us a little minute to do it, but now we finally turned it around. We’ll try to get on the opposite side of that hill, start moving in a good direction.” Even if the Knicks (11-47) refuse to admit to tanking, refuse to point to the NBA Draft Lottery and the prospect of fitting Zion Williamson for a uniform, the numbers are still overwhelming.

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