What looked to be a total blowout turned into a nail-biter, but the New York Knicks held on and defeated the Washington Wizards on Saturday 122-103. New York improves to 44-26 while Washington falls to 15-55.
The Knicks’ dominant first half propelled them to victory
The Knicks were playing without Jalen Brunson (ankle) and Miles McBride (groin), but they got huge contributions from everybody to take full control in the first half. New York entered the halftime break up by 25 points and pushed the lead to 33 early in the third quarter.
Mikal Bridges had 24 of his 27 points in the first half, and he finished the night shooting 10-for-20 from the floor and 4-for-8 from three-point range. Karl-Anthony Towns led all scorers with 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and OG Anunoby chipped in 23 points of his own on the night.
Overall, New York shot the ball well after a pair of rough shooting nights. They shot 48.4% from the floor and 37.1% from three. The team needed a strong offensive night to get themselves back on track, and that is exactly what they got Saturday against Washington.
The Wizards nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback
The Knicks seemed to be in the clear up by 33, but suddenly things quickly got interesting. The Wizards had cut the deficit to 16 entering the fourth quarter, and their run continued into the closing frame as they went on a 12-0 run to cut the gap to four after a few big shots from Marcus Smart.
From the 7:22 mark of the third quarter to the 9:14 mark of the fourth, New York was outscored 40-13 by Washington. The Knicks suddenly were on the brink of a horrific collapse, but they composed themselves and went on a 9-0 run to push the lead back to 13. Washington wouldn’t come within single digits the rest of the game.
Though the Knicks escaped with a win, their complacency in the third quarter is certainly alarming. The Wizards have the worst record in the NBA, and the Knicks let their guard down after they took a huge lead and nearly let it get away from them.
Overview
Despite Washington’s comeback effort, the Knicks prevailed and survived to win. New York will have a few days off before they get themselves set to take on the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.