January 27th, 2024. New York had just beaten their rivals, Miami Heat, by 16, to push their winning streak to six games and improve to 29-17 on the season. They did lose Julius Randle to a shoulder injury late in the fourth quarter, but there was confidence that with Jalen Brunson playing at an All-NBA level, OG Anunoby finding his groove offensively, and Isaiah Hartenstein looking like a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, the team would be able to continue playing great and stay in the hunt for the third, or possibly even the second, seed.