Knicks' X- Factor Behind 6-0 Streak: Why New York may be League's Best after San Antonio Win

With just under seven minutes remaining in Thursday's game and down 12 points against the seasoned and playoff-tested San Antonio Spurs of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginoboli, it appeared that the 5-0 Knicks had run into the buzzsaw that would at last stop their opening season winning streak at five games, their best since 1993-94.

Carmelo Anthony was having a terrible night by his standards. Shots weren't falling. Their league-leading defense, now ranked No.2 after Thursday, was on pace to give up 100 points, 13 more than pervious average of 87 points allowed to opponents each game. All in all, it was a game the Knicks should not have won.

And yet, they did.

Behind a shining 25-point, seven assist performance by point guard Raymond Felton, clutch three-point shooting and defense by the savvy Jason Kidd, defensive stops at the right time and 60 percent shooting on catch-and-shoot plays in the fourth, the Knicks rallied late to an impressive, inspiring 104-100 win in San Antonio, a place where they had not won in nine years.

The Knicks have remained the league's only undefeated team, beating high-caliber opponents like the world champion Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks and Philadelphia 76ers by healthy margins. But Thursday's game was the first test they've faced that championship caliber teams must always meet-having to dig deep down inside of themselves and find a way to win with their backs against the wall.

There have been many asking around the league if the red-hot start by this veteran New York squad--the oldest in the league--is for real, or if this is a fluke. Rightfully so, in some ways.

Last year, they could barely function all season, coaching changes and sloppy play down the stretch defining their season. Their new pieces added in the off-season were several pairs of old hands. They weren't supposed to be able to play like this. Dominating on defense. Commanding on offense, ranked No. 2 behind Miami with 103.5 points per game. Sharing the ball with almost perfect synchronization and still having Anthony reign as one of the league's premiere scorers.

And they certainly weren't supposed to be able to find the gumption, the determination to claw back from the depths and snatch victory from the Spurs and their vaunted pass-heavy offense.

But they did. And they did it in thrilling style.

So, what does this come-from-behind win against one of the league's best teams say about the now 6-0 Knicks?

"It shows me that this team is for real," New York coach Mike Woodson told NBA.com after the game. "We beat a great team tonight -- a well-coached team. It's the first time I've ever won in San Antonio, so I feel pretty good about that. It's tough to win here."

Woodson has plenty of reason to feel good. After all, when your best player, Anthony, who averages 23.8 points a night, scored only 9 points on 3-of-12 shooting against last year's Western Conference Finalists, and your team still wins, it sends a statement to other teams around the league-Watch out. The Knicks are for real.

Powering them has been the unusual balance of having two pure point guards, Felton and Kidd, running the floor, Felton with the fearless ability to drive and find his teammates open, while Kidd-ranked second all-time in assists with 11,860, behind the legendary John Stockton-adds not only another scoring facilitator but a sly, underrated defender and a deadly shooter ranked third all-time in three-point shoots with 1,885.

The result? A seamless, pass-oriented offense that has gotten everyone involved in scoring on the other end.

And then there is J.R. Smith. A streaky shooter that can ignite a team or flame out on any given night, he has brought the best stretch of games in his career thus far, second on the Knicks with 18.0 points a game, while leading the lead with an astonishing .737 percentage from downtown three-point range. Having recently admitted that he partied too much last season, a more focused Smith has returned this season with a renewed sense of commitment, and that has been critical to the Knicks start this season. If this pace keeps up, Smith, 27, can run away with the league's Sixth Man of the Year trophy.

They're playing defense. Relentless defense. Last night's game not withstanding, they've held opponents to under 90 points a game. And while they have not been a very solid rebounding team--they rank 26 out of the league's 30 teams in rebounds with 39.7 boards a night, a stat they must improve--the Knicks have made it look easier for inmates to escape Guantanamo Bay than they have for opponents to get into the paint.

Part of that is thanks to a more mature, more in-shape and perhaps more motivated Anthony--proving the age-old adage that success truly starts at the top.

"He's been talking, and you could see in the fourth quarter," Kidd said of Anthony's assertiveness to ESPN. "He kept telling everybody we need to get another stop. 'Get another stop.' He's our leader. He's been great. He's been off the charts playing both sides of the ball."

Amid rumors of his unhappiness with Jeremy Lin's rising success and his alleged string-pulling behind ex-coach Mike D'Antoni's mid-season departure from New York last season, no Knick player has been under more scrutiny and faced more criticism than 'Melo. And after appearing to be out of shape and even unmotivated at times last season, one would be hard-pressed to say that criticism was unjustified.

Yet after playing alongside fellow Knick Tyson Chandler during the London Olympic Games this past summer, it seems like a new Carmelo Anthony has emerged. A smarter player. A player willing to trust his teammates instead of trying to carry the team on his broad shoulders. And he has no doubt been aided by having to play the power forward position in teammate Amar'e Stoudemire's absence (leg surgery), which has allowed Woodson to play more efficient lineups.

Other teams are taking notice, too.

"I think last year Melo would have forced a lot of shots," Spurs veteran Stephen Jackson said of Anthony after the Knicks' Thursday win. "This year he's trusting his teammates, and it's shown out there, especially tonight. It's amazing how they went from two guys shooting all the balls to a team that everybody has confidence in everybody else."

So, is this a whole new Carmelo Anthony that fans are seeing transform before their eyes, a team leader and still-dominating scorer--like his close friend LeBron James in Miami--that is on the verge of leading the Knicks to their best season start in 19 years, and has Knicks fans dreaming of a championship banner raised to the rafters of historic Madison Square Garden for the first time since 1973?

"I don't know about it being a new Melo," Anthony told ESPN. "It's just my focus level is real high right now. I know what I want for myself and this team. It starts with me -- lead us on both ends of the floor. It's carrying over to everybody else."

With any luck for Anthony, that can continue to carry over Friday night, when the Knicks face the ever-tough, 6-1 Memphis Grizzlies at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn. A win there will match the Knicks's 19-year benchmark 7-0 start set by Patrick Ewing's 1993-94 NBA Finalist Knicks squad.

Not a bad comparison, all things considered.