<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Knicks win streak never was going to be judged by this column for how long it would last, but by how they would recover from their first 2006 loss. Coming home from the Canadian blowout, they met a well rested, perhaps rusty Timberwolves club, who had lost seven straight road games. New York got off to a nice start, shooting 55% from the floor in the first, leading by as many as five points. It took less than six minutes though for the Wolves to get going and they withstood the early punches and adjusted nicely, beginning to force the Knicks to take tougher and tougher shots. That shot selection of the opening minutes quickly degenerated and only during their second half run after falling behind 19 did they get it back when the Wolves defense got sloppy and complacent. To their credit, the Knicks made a concerted effort in the beginning of the second half to get the ball inside to Eddy Curry, but the Wolves then went on an 8-0 run and the big man?s touches became increasingly infrequent. This remains the biggest flaw of the Knicks - not nearly enough consistency in Eddy Curry?s touches. There were countless times on Monday, when Curry either had his man sealed or had a mismatch and the ball didn?t find him. Getting Curry the ball within the natural flow of the offense is still a chore, as it seems he only gets the ball when they make a deliberate effort to do so, as Jamal Crawford did a few times in the second half. The promising sign of this loss is that the Knicks had a chance to win the game at the end, despite having no business being in the game. </div> RealGM
