The Knicks win streak never was going to be judged by this column for how long it would last, but by how they would recover from their first 2006 loss.

Coming home from the Canadian blowout, they met a well rested, perhaps rusty Timberwolves club, who had lost seven straight road games. New York got off to a nice start, shooting 55% from the floor in the first, leading by as many as five points.  It took less than six minutes though for the Wolves to get going and they withstood the early punches and adjusted nicely, beginning to force the Knicks to take tougher and tougher shots.  

That shot selection of the opening minutes quickly degenerated and only during their second half run after falling behind 19 did they get it back when the Wolves defense got sloppy and complacent.

To their credit, the Knicks made a concerted effort in the beginning of the second half to get the ball inside to Eddy Curry, but the Wolves then went on an 8-0 run and the big man?s touches became increasingly infrequent.

This remains the biggest flaw of the Knicks - not nearly enough consistency in Eddy Curry?s touches.  There were countless times on Monday, when Curry either had his man sealed or had a mismatch and the ball didn?t find him.  Getting Curry the ball within the natural flow of the offense is still a chore, as it seems he only gets the ball when they make a deliberate effort to do so, as Jamal Crawford did a few times in the second half.  

The promising sign of this loss is that the Knicks had a chance to win the game at the end, despite having no business being in the game.  

The resilience came mainly from Nate Robinson, their best player on the floor down the stretch, whose on-ball defensive harassment on Troy Hudson led to a necessary stop with 46 seconds left, as Kevin Garnett was forced to take an awkward shot at the end of the 24-second clock and Robinson picked up the loose ball rebound.

After cutting the lead to two, Robinson?s defense on Hudson during the final seconds was again excellent.  Hudson put up a desperation 3-pointer, that looked like an afterthought.  They played it right and played it smart and on a more reasonable day, Hudson misses the shot and they would have then have a chance to tie or even win the game.  

?We watched New York in Toronto last night,? said Garnett.  ?We knew that if we could control the offensive boards, we?d have a good change of winning this one.?  

All of Eddie Griffin?s six rebounds came on the offensive glass and six of Garnett?s 16 were offensive.

The Wolves go next to Boston, now one game above .500 and winners of their last three games, but it is hard to determine if the Wolves are coming or going.  With the abundance of injuries in Denver and the chaos in Seattle, there is no reason why this club can?t win the Northwest Division.

Wally Szczerbiak has been averaging nearly 24 points per game since December 1st and had 24 on Monday.  Minnesota wasn?t counting on that level of production from him and it has cushioned the loss of Latrell Sprewell, but 40 minutes per night will wear on him come mid-March and Dwayne Casey would be well-advised to increase Rashad McCants? playing time, as he his 3-point stroke from the extra NBA feet looks very fluid and confident.

...Ticket is not going to be dealt this season, that is for sure, but that title he desperately wants to win won?t be happening this season either and it is hard to imagine when it will in Minnesota at this point.

As far as the Knicks, their next win will be their most crucial of the season to date.  They can ill-afford to squander the momentum of their six-game win streak by going into an extended losing streak.  They are a road loss in Chicago away, which surely will be an emotional night for Curry, from going into Saturday?s Hornets? game at home staring down a possible 0-5 week.  An 0-5 week would leave the Knicks 13 games under .500 with 13 games to play before the All-Star break.

Christopher Reina is the executive editor of RealGM.com and can be reached at [email protected].