When Donovan Mitchell put up 21 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 turnovers under the relentless defensive pressure of Chen Xi and Paul Joe, the Pistons naturally had no way to pose any further threat to the Knicks.
In the end, the New York Knicks comfortably claimed another victory, 123-116.
This was their 34th win of the season.
Thirty-seven games played, only three losses! Terrifying!
Without anyone quite realizing it, the Knicks seemed to be charging toward those historic regular-season records at an astonishing pace and win rate.
If the Knicks could maintain this winning percentage over their next 45 games and keep their losses to six or fewer, they would have every chance to challenge the Chicago Bulls' and Golden State Warriors' incredible single-season records of 72 and 73 wins respectively!!
That would undoubtedly be another glorious record remembered for a long time in League history.
Though... perhaps the number 73 was not all that auspicious~~
The reason the Knicks had achieved this mark without much fanfare was mainly because, while New York's roster looked luxurious enough, it somehow did not look quite that luxurious either.
There was no question that Chen Xi was a top-tier star, but Joe, the team's second option, seemed to be a notch below in star power.
There was no third option on the team worthy of being called a superstar. Aside from Rose and Horford, the role players were not particularly famous either. In terms of ability, only players like Horford could be considered high-quality championship pieces.
There were even two fringe players on the roster who could not get any playing time, signed to the cheapest minimum contracts simply to fill out the roster.
There was naturally no issue calling a team like this one of the League's top contenders, but