Jason Kidd scored just once on Thursday night, but he made that one count in a big spot for the Knicks.

New York led by as much as 30 points at one point in the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies, an often times dominating performance. But the Grizzlies mounted a fierce second half comeback. With 1:39 remaining, Memphis had widdled the Knicks’ lead down to just five points. Enter J-Kidd.

No. 5 drilled a three-pointer with just over a minute to go, pushing the New York lead back to eight points. From there, the Knicks closed the game at the free throw line to pull away with a 108-101 victory. The win was the sixth straight for New York on the heels of a four-game West Coast losing streak. Jason believes there’s a correlation between the two.

"Sometimes you take a butt kicking and it can wake you up," J-Kidd said of the ugly road trip the Knicks had.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about the Knicks winning steak, now the longest active streak in the NBA, is the work of their bench. Led by J-Kidd, the New York bench has been producing at an equal clip to the starting squad. In Wednesday night’s win, New York got 35 points from J.R. Smith on 10-18 shooting from the field. J-Kidd added three points, four steals and three assists to lead an NYK bench that tallied 51 points.

With their six straight wins, the Knicks have solidified their spot at the top of the Atlantic Division standings and in the top three of the Eastern Conference. But according to Jason, the most important aspect of the streak has been it’s timing as the Knicks gather momentum with the postseason less than a month away.

"It’s about understanding the part of the season you are at right now,” Kidd said. “You want to be ready going into April. If we can get some healthy bodies back we are going in the right direction."

NEXT UP
The Knicks have a tough task ahead this weekend if they hope to continue their winning ways. After hosting the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night at Madison Square Garden, they’ll welcome the Atlantic Division rival Boston Celtics to the Garden on Sunday night for their second meeting in less than a week.

Both games are set for 7:30 p.m. EST tip-off and each can be seen locally on MSG.

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