Amare Stoudemire continued to enhance his MVP credentials as the Knicks defeated the Nuggets in New York 129-125. Stoudemire poured in 30 more points on 13-23 shooting to become the first player in Knicks history to record eight consecutive thirty-point performances as New York has emerged victorious in thirteen of their last fourteen contests. During his eight-game run Stoudemire is averaging an insane 33.9 points on .584 shooting.
The record Amare broke had been set by Willie Naulls in 1962.
Amare also entered the game leading the league in 4th-quarter PPG with 8.0 and registered ten more against Denver and the Knicks now have their best 25-game start since the 1996-97 season.
Yes - it’s been that long, Isiah.
Stoudemire hasn’t scored less than thirty points since recording 24 on November 27 and has recorded the following totals since: 37, 35, 34, 31, 34, 34, 36, 30
This is why I am currently on board the “Amare for MVP” bandwagon, folks!
Let’s put his scoring barrage into context for a minute, courtesy of data from Basketball-Reference.com.
How many players since 1988 have registered eight consecutive games or more of 30-plus points? Take a look below:
| Player | Year | Streak |
|---|---|---|
| Kobe Bryant | 2003 | 16 |
| Tracy McGrady | 2003 | 14 |
| Shaquille O’Neal | 2001 | 11 |
| LeBron James | 2006 | 10 |
| Karl Malone | 1988 | 10 |
| Michael Jordan | 1990 | 10 |
| Kobe Bryant | 2006 | 9 |
| Kevin Durant | 2010 | 9 |
| Amare Stoudemire | 2010 | 8 |
| Kobe Bryant | 2006 | 8 |
| Tracy McGrady | 2003 | 8 |
| Allen Iverson | 1999 | 8 |
| Michael Jordan | 1996 | 8 |
| Michael Jordan | 1988 | 8 |
| Michael Jordan | 1988 | 8 |
| Michael Jordan | 1988 | 8 |
| Michael Jordan | 1988 | 8 |
Since 1988 only SIX players have accomplished what Amare just did for the Knicks today, so congrats are definitely in order.
The way he’s going though, I might have to change this list up quite a bit over the next week or so.