Chapter 05

Winter

Two wins in eleven games. The slide that nearly ended the season before it started mattering.

Act III · Dec 31 to Jan 19

Winter

Eleven games between December 31 and January 19, and only two wins. It started with a New Year's Eve loss in San Antonio. Nobody could say what Towns' role was, the rotation changed weekly, and the papers reported a players-only meeting the locker room disputed. It finally ended in Dallas, 114–97, with the record at 25–18.

Dec 312 wins · 9 lossesJan 19

**New York Knicks on X** · 0:56Locally hosted playbackView source on X

The low point, on the record

“Gil's Arena Gets Real on the Knicks' Spiraling Season”

Gil's Arena · January 22, 2026 · Recorded the day the 2–9 slide ended. Watch ↗

January · Nets at Knicks

120–66

One blowout doesn't fix a season. But beating Brooklyn by 54 put a date on the turn, and the team that showed up after January 21 was the one that won the title.