Knicks try to snap franchise-worst losing streak against 76ers at 7:30 p.m.

New York has lost a team record 17 straight games

2/13/2019, 11:30 PM
Jan 28, 2019; Charlotte, NC, USA; New York Knicks head coach David Fizdale reacts during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center. The Hornets won 101-92. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports / Sam Sharpe
Jan 28, 2019; Charlotte, NC, USA; New York Knicks head coach David Fizdale reacts during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center. The Hornets won 101-92. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports / Sam Sharpe

On Monday night, the New York Knicks broke the franchise record for longest single-season losing streak.

On Wednesday, the Knicks may move another defeat closer to their all-time record -- while also getting a glimpse at an opponent that proves such struggles can lead to a positive end.

The Knicks will look to snap their epic skid Wednesday when they host the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden.

New York's losing streak hit 17 games Monday night, when a late comeback bid fell short in a 107-104 defeat to the host Cleveland Cavaliers.

The 76ers' two-game winning streak ended Tuesday, when they lost to the visiting Boston Celtics 112-109.

The Knicks' defeat at Cleveland served as another mile marker in a forgettable season that has seen New York lose 25 of the past 26 as well as 30 of the past 32 games. While New York's 17-game losing streak isn't technically the longest in team history -- the 1984-85 and 1985-86 squads combined to lose 20 straight games spanning the two seasons -- it is the longest in the NBA since the Memphis Grizzlies lost 19 straight last season.

The nearly six-week long skid -- the Knicks last won on Jan. 4, the day before the NFL playoffs started -- has also opened up the possibility that New York may threaten the longest losing streaks in NBA history, both of which have a 76ers connection.

The 2010-11 Cavaliers and the 2013-14 76ers are tied for the longest single-season losing streak at 26 games. Philadelphia has the overall record, a 28-game drought that spanned the last 10 games of the 2014-15 season and the first 18 games of the 2015-16 campaign.

The 76ers' epic losing streaks, of course, came during "The Process," the mammoth rebuild in which the club stockpiled young players while going 47-199 in the three seasons between 2013-14 and 2015-16. >> Read More

Copyright 2019 by the Associated Press

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