The Trail Blazers departed Portland International Airport last week sporting positive mojo, improving health and the status as one of the hottest teams in the NBA. Oh, what a difference a week makes.

Jalen Brunson is not often credited for playing good defense, yet his coach Mike Brown thinks that should change. Brown lauded Brunson's defense amid the Knicks' five-game winning streak.

This is how you show ownership, a front office, and a fanbase that you want to stick together. Because the Knicks are quietly making a case that they don’t need Giannis Antetokounmpo after all. That they can play elite-level, selfless, winning basketball with the roster — or at least the core — as currently constructed.

TORONTO (AP) — Mikal Bridges scored 19 of his 30 points in the third quarter, Karl-Anthony Towns had a season-high 22 rebounds and the New York Knicks extended their winning streak to four, rallying past the Toronto Raptors 119-92 on Wednesday night.

Sunday Night Basketball debuts at 6 PM ET on NBC and Peacock.

The concerns bubbling around the Knicks had cooled in recent days, but Tuesday brought them right back to the surface. And that’s despite extending their win streak to three. Because if it were almost any other team than one of the NBA’s bottom-feeders in the Kings,

Yabusele provided two rebounds across four minutes during Friday's 127-97 victory over Portland.

The Knicks weren’t 16 points better than lowly Sacramento on Tuesday, at least for the first 41-plus minutes. It was a back-and-forth contest filled with goofy turnovers and contagious fouling. The vibe inside Madison Square Garden was that New York was destined for another syrup-of-ipecac defeat.