After stumbling their way through a miserable 1-4 west coast road trip last week, the Knicks regained their footing with thorough victories over the Magic (106-94) and the Raptors (twice, 99-94 and 110-84). The three wins brought the Knicks' winning streak to four games and their record to 42-26. All that means they now hold a two game lead over the Nets in the Atlantic Division and a four-tenths of a percentage point lead over the Pacers for the two seed and the right to avoid LeBron James and the Heat in the second round of the playoffs.

What Went Right This Week: Although the entire week has to be evaluated with the understanding that the Magic and Raptors are a combined fifty games under .500, the Knicks played solid defense despite the absence of Tyson Chandler due to a bulging disc in his neck. The Knick D was led by Kenyon Martin, starting in Chandler's place, who anchored the Knicks on the inside while Iman Shumpert showed flashes of his former self with harassing on-the-ball defense that culminated in a four steal performance against Toronto on Saturday night.

Carmelo Anthony returned from a three game absence to lead the Knicks on the offensive end, averaging 28.7 points and 7.3 rebounds over the course of the week. Anthony looked better and better as the week went on, scoring most of his points the way he did months ago, on his patented turnaround jumper in the mid-post, off of quick-second-jump putbacks and at the free throw line. He even dunked (seriously, even when healthy, Melo almost never dunks).

Martin was productive on the offensive end as well as he worked in the nooks-and-crannies around the basket and baseline for garbage bucket after garbage bucket (Martin averaged sixteen points and seven boards and shot 21-27 from the field for the week). JR Smith got in on the action too, attacking the basket on his way to a week where he averaged 20.3 points and 5.7 rebounds a game. Smith earned his points by shooting 52% from the field and earning twenty shots from the free throw line.

The rest of the Knick rotation handled its business, contributing with solid defense and role-fulfilling offense. Steve Novak shot well, Pablo Prigioni contributed with his playmaking and Jason Kidd extra-passed all over the place. James White even managed to show the world that he's still able to dunk.

What Went Wrong This Week: Although Friday night's game in Toronto wasn't quite as close as the score suggested, it should not have been as close as it was. And it wouldn't have been, except for a pitiful .542 free throw shooting performance from the Knicks. The blame for that falls almost entirely on JR and Carmelo, who shot eighteen of the Knicks' 24 free throws. Smith shot just 3-7 while Anthony was better but not great, going 7-11. Anthony also missed a free throw with 12.5 seconds left that would have made the Knick lead five points. Not a huge miss, but not a small one either. Of course, Anthony and Smith recovered with a combined 17-18 effort from the line the next night, so it's safe to say they haven't forgotten shooting free throws.

In a week where almost all of the Knicks played well, the ongoing lethargic play of Raymond Felton stands out. Felton didn't score more than ten points in a game all week, averaging just 7.7 points and four assists a game. Felton turned the ball over just twice and ran the point for a team that went 3-0 so it's hard to be too critical, but it's been a very long time since Felton played with any kind of energy. The occasional foray to the hoop or timely three has been there, but it's been months since the Garden rocked while Ray orchestrated.

Felton's scoring numbers haven't fallen off much lately as he's averaging 13.1 points a game this month as compared to his 14.2 season average, but his assists are down to 4.5 a game in March as compared with 5.6 on the year. Just over one assist a game might not seem like much, but considering that Felton averages 6.1 assists in Knick victories this season and 4.8 in their losses, that kind of decline is a very big deal.

Felton's a player with limited physical tools who gets by on grit and determination and there's no doubt that he's nursing as many bumps and bruises as any player in the league. Still, it's clear that the Knicks need Felton to be more of a playmaker. Hopefully he's got something in the tank for their stretch run.

Last but not least, even with the Knicks paper thin in the frontcourt Marcus Camby played just seven minutes against Orlando, twelve minutes in Toronto and not at all on Saturday at the Garden. Camby isn't injured and hasn't played poorly in his time on the court this season. Given his age and that he's fallen victim to injury a few times this season, it makes sense that his minutes are limited but this seems extreme. The Knicks will no doubt need him at some point during the playoffs. They should find a way to get him on the court more.

Knick Of The Week: As great as it was to get Carmelo Anthony back, Kenyon Martin takes this honor for the second time in his five-week Knick career. Martin put up strong numbers filling in as the Knicks' starting center, played stellar defense and rattled the rim at every opportunity.

Seriously, like a bunch of times.

Martin's play over the last month has been a revelation and has made teams like the Lakers and Heat that passed on signing him look foolish (to the extent the Heat can possibly look foolish at the moment and the Lakers can possibly look any more foolish). With Rasheed, Amar'e and Kurt Thomas all injured, it's hard to say where the Knicks would be without K-Mart.

The Knicks Kicked Ass. There Must Have Been a Few Laughs: As always. Most humorously, the Knicks continued hazing 28 year-old rookie Chris Copeland by making him sing happy birthday to Jason Kidd (he turned 40!) before the Raptors game Saturday night. And not in the locker room either—Cope took the mic at center court.

Also, Mike Woodson wore an, um, interesting shirt that JR Smith was less than fond of.

Up Next: It's hard to believe there are only fourteen games left in the regular season. The Knicks are off until tomorrow when they travel to Boston to play the Celtics before returning home to face Memphis the next night. Over the weekend they host two games: the Bobcats on Friday and a rematch with the Celtics Sunday. Even without injured center Marc Gasol, beating the Grizzlies in Memphis is a tall order (pun intended), especially on the second night of a back-to-back. Knick fans know too well that the grizzled Celtics bow down to no one; only Charlotte stands out as an easy victory. With that in mind, it's a week where 2-2 is a solid result. The Knicks are due for a signature win and going into Boston tomorrow and getting one there would get them off on the right foot.

You can follow Jonathan Fishner on Twitter @therealkingfish, and check out his blog The Real King Fish.