The Knicks ended 2023 in 8th place in the East at 17-15.

After a 14-2 January, they’re third in the East at 31-17.

“We’re playing well, we’re playing to our strengths, we are just having good vibes.” – Knicks guard Josh Hart

THE LINEUP 🏀

1. 👀 Must-see from Tuesday
2. 🔥 Knicks push win streak to eight
3. 3️⃣ Stephen vs. Sabrina at NBA All-Star
4. ⭐ Rising Stars pool (but as kids)
5. ⌚✖️🌹 Dame returns to Portland

Dame back in Portland: Damian Lillard will play his first career road game in Portland (10 ET, ESPN) after spending his first 11 seasons in the Rose City. See Section 5.

No. 1 vs. No. 1: Tonight, 2022 No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero and 2023 No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama meet for the first time (8 ET, NBA App). Learn more about Paolo’s NBA journey on the latest episode of Pass The Rock.

KD back in Brooklyn on ABC: Kevin Durant returns to Brooklyn (8:30 ET, ABC) for the first time since being traded to the Suns at last year’s trade deadline. It’s the fifth game of a season-long seven-game road trip for Phoenix, which has won eight of its last 10.

1. WEDNESDAY MORNING MUST-SEE

🔨 Dunks

• Rocking the rim: Neemias Queta had four points off the Boston bench, none better than this strong finish at the rim
• Deep in the bag: Tyrese Haliburton is known mostly for dimes and triples, but he showed he can get up on this and-1 slam
• Now you see me …: Jericho Sims spins away from Walker Kessler for the baseline jam
• No wasted movement: Jonathan Kuminga with the catch, leap and slam
• KP poster: Kristaps Porzingis challenged a top 10 shot blocker and came out on top

💰 Dimes

• Trae vs. Reaves: Trae Young and Austin Reaves traded near half-court alley-oop dimes during the second quarter. First Trae hit Jalen Johnson in stride. Then, Reaves found LeBron
• Coby to Caruso: Coby White finds a cutting Alex Caruso with a slick pass between the Raptors defense. Stick around for Caruso’s eye goggles celly

🏀 Buckets

• The angle: Steph Curry knifed through the Sixers defense then sank the reverse layup HIGH off the glass
• At the buzzer: Haliburton beat the halftime buzzer with a half-court heave against Boston
• Or no buckets: KJ Martin rose up and spiked Kuminga’s shot back to the court

💥 Moments

• “He’s my why”:  Trae Young spoke about having his son at his games and the importance of family in his life
• “We want Taj!”: The New York crowd broke out chants and erupted when newly signed Taj Gibson checked into the game

2. KNICKS EXTEND WIN STREAK TO 8

🗽 Knicks 118, Jazz 103: Donte DiVincenzo followed up his 28 points and five 3s against Charlotte on Monday, with 33 points and a career-high nine 3s in NY’s eighth straight win.

• Villanova Knicks: It was a Nova night as Jalen Brunson added 29 points and nine dimes and Josh Hart posted his first career triple-double, becoming the 10th player ever to post triple 10s exactly

🍀 Celtics 129, Pacers 124: Jayson Tatum scored 23 of his 30 points in the first half as the Celtics put up a franchise-record 81 points. After letting Indy back in the game, the Celtics held off the Pacers down the stretch.

• Boston trio: Tatum, Jaylen Brown (25) and Derrick White (24) combined for 79 points. Tyrese Haliburton – who missed 10 of Indiana’s last 11 games (hamstring) – had 13 points and 10 assists in 22 minutes

🅰️ Hawks 138, Lakers 122: Trae Young knocked down his first six 3s on his way to a 26-point, 13-assist night to lead the Hawks past the Lakers. Austin Reaves scored a season-high 28 points while LeBron James (20 pts, 9 reb, 8 ast) flirted with a triple-double in the loss.

• Stars out: LeBron dapped up 2Chainz pregame, while Quavo was looking fresh sitting courtside for the Lakers’ only trip to ATL

🌉 Warriors 119, Sixers 107: Steph Curry (37 pts, 8 reb, 7 ast, 8 3s) led the Warriors past the Sixers to avoid a three-game slide. Kuminga (26 pts) has scored 20+ in seven straight games. Prior to this stretch, he had never had back-to-back 20+ point games.

• Streak ends: Joel Embiid’s 30+ point game streak ended at 22 games as he finished with 14 points in his first game back after missing the last two

🦖 Raptors 118, Bulls 107: After trailing by as many as 16 points in the first half, the Raptors rallied to snap a five-game losing streak. Toronto outscored the Bulls 65-44 in the second half to secure the win, led by Gary Trent Jr. (24 pts, 6 3s).

3. STEPHEN VS. SABRINA 3-POINT CHALLENGE

A viral moment has turned into an All-Star moment.

Last July, Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu put the world on notice with her performance in the Starry 3-Point Contest at 2023 WNBA All-Star, missing only two shots during her final round for a final score of 37 (out of a maximum 40 points).

Her total set a record for a 3-point contest — NBA or WNBA — and the hoops world took notice, including the NBA’s all-time 3-point leader.

Stephen Curry called Ionescu’s All-Star performance “ridiculous” then recently brought it up again to Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski before a Kings-Warriors matchup.

• Curry: “I gotta bring her out…we gotta settle this once and for all.”
• Ionescu: Let’s getttttt it!! See ya at the 3 pt line👀

With the challenge accepted, the details were announced on Tuesday.

What will happen when a WNBA superstar with the greatest 3-point round in history meets the greatest 3-point shooter in NBA history?

• Curry: “I think this is like the coolest thing ever. … It’s gonna be great and I think the fans will love it!”

The competition will air during State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on TNT after the Starry 3-Point Contest and before the AT&T Slam Dunk.

4. PANINI RISING STARS POOL: MATCH THE PLAYER WITH THEIR CHILDHOOD PHOTO

On Tuesday, the 11 rookies, 10 sophomores and seven NBA G League players that make up the player pool for the Panini Rising Stars were announced.

Now comes the test. Can you match the names to the player’s childhood photos?

Let’s start with the rookies. Tap each player’s name to dive into their season highlights:

• Bilal Coulibaly (Guard | Wizards)
• Keyonte George (Guard | Jazz)
• Jordan Hawkins (Guard | Pelicans)
• Scoot Henderson (Guard | Blazers)
• Chet Holmgren (Frontcourt | Thunder)
• Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Frontcourt | Heat)
• Dereck Lively II (Frontcourt | Mavericks)
• Brandon Miller (Frontcourt | Hornets)
• Brandin Podziemski (Guard | Warriors)
• Cason Wallace (Guard | Thunder)
• Victor Wembanyama (Frontcourt | Spurs)

How did you do with the rooks? Ready for the sophomores?

• Paolo Banchero (Frontcourt | Magic)
• Dyson Daniels (Guard | Pelicans)
• Jalen Duren (Frontcourt | Pistons)
• Jaden Ivey (Guard | Pistons)
• Walker Kessler (Frontcourt | Jazz)
• Bennedict Mathurin (Guard | Pacers)
• Keegan Murray (Frontcourt | Kings)
• Shaedon Sharpe (Guard | Blazers)
• Jabari Smith Jr. (Frontcourt | Rockets)
• Jalen Williams (Frontcourt | Thunder)

The annual showcase of young talent at NBA All-Star will be played as a mini-tournament with three games (two semifinals and a final) on Friday, Feb. 16 (9 ET, TNT).

* * *

Think you got ’em all right? Check out the answers below:

Rookies

Top Row (left to right): Bilal Coulibaly, Keyonte George, Jordan Hawkins, Scoot Henderson | Middle Row (L-R): Chet Holmgren, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Dereck Lively II, Brandon Miller | Bottom Row (L-R): Brandin Podziemski, Cason Wallace, Victor Wembanyama

Sophomores

Top Row (left to right)): Paolo Banchero, Jalen Duren, Jaden Ivey, Walker Kessler | Middle Row (L-R): Bennedict Mathurin, Keegan Murray, Shaedon Sharpe, Jabari Smith Jr. | Bottom Row (L-R): Jalen Williams, Dyson Daniels

5. DAME RETURNS TO PORTLAND

Damian Lillard has walked into the Moda Center (known as Rose Garden Arena his rookie season) for 392 regular season games and 29 playoff games.

Tonight will be the first time he does so as a member of the visiting team, as Milwaukee makes its only stop in Portland this season (10 ET, ESPN).

The legend of Dame Time sprouted and grew in Portland after the Blazers made the 6-2 guard out of Weber State the No. 6 overall pick in the 2012 Draft.

For the next 11 seasons, Lillard not only lit up the scoreboard and hit clutch shot after clutch shot, he also developed a bond with the community. Something that was evident in his ’Dear Rip City’ farewell message after being traded to the Bucks this summer.

Digging into the Dame Video Vault

• 26 minutes of Dame’s best plays with the Blazers
• Dame speaks on his time in Portland at Bucks Media Day
• Portland’s ‘Thank You Dame’ tribute video

Only five active players have played for one team longer than Lillard’s 769 career regular-season games in Portland.

Nine active players with 750+ regular-season games with one team

• Stephen Curry (Warriors): 923*
• LeBron James (Cavaliers): 849
• Russell Westbrook (Thunder): 821
• Mike Conley (Grizzlies): 788
• Draymond Green (Warriors): 778*
• Damian Lillard (Blazers): 769
• Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks): 764*
• Klay Thompson (Warriors): 759*
• DeAndre Jordan (Clippers): 750

*still with team

Over those 769 games, Lillard made a lasting impact not only on the city and its fans, but also the Blazers’ franchise record book.

Dame is Portland’s all-time leader in points (19,376), 3-pointers made (4,427) and free throws made (2,387), he ranks second in assists (5,151) and field goals made (6,281), he ranks sixth in steals (732) and 12th in rebounds (3,253).

On the precipice of becoming the team’s all-time leading scorer in 2022, Lillard discussed the meaning of that record for his career.

Dame: “I think everybody here knows this, it’s documented that I’ve always said I wanna be the best. I want to be the guy when they say, ‘Who is the best to come through here?’ I want people to look and say it was Dame. Obviously scoring isn’t everything, but when you start to get up in these types of numbers, that’s a major thing.

“The fact that it’s Clyde Drexler; anybody who knows the history of the NBA is gonna respect and honor that. Being a part of one organization for this long and being able to sustain this level of success and to catch a record like that it means a lot to be in that position. And once it does happen, it’ll be a major step even further in the direction of being what I wanna be, as far as being a Trail Blazer.”