A fourth team, Portland, left the West Coast in the early hours of Dec. 31 for their loss to the New York Knicks on the 1st.
Back to backs are a fact of life in the NBA. The Knicks have the depth to take advantage of this.
In the win over the Magic, who were coming off a loss to the Celtics, Coach Miller played the starters 136 and the bench 104 mins. Taj Gibson also played 29 mins well above his season average. Against the Pistons, who were coming off a back to back, the split was 125, 105.