Knicks defeat Wizards for 5th win in last 6 games
WASHINGTON — You would have thought this was a home game for the New York Knicks.
Fans in attendance at the Capital One Arena for Friday night’s matchup between the Knicks and Washington Wizards showered Washington’s star guard Jordan Poole with boos after a traveling violation and chanted “Let’s go, Knicks” with the opposing team up big.
They cheered the Knicks again in the game’s final 90 seconds, after both coaches emptied their benches down the stretch.
Anything to take away the pain for a team whose splashy offseason acquisition rippled no more than a pebble thrown into the ocean.
The Knicks waltzed into the nation’s capital and secured their fifth win in six games with a 120-99 victory in an arena that felt more like home than hostile enemy territory. Blue and orange jerseys stuffed the stadium — and the Knicks stuffed the box score.
Jalen Brunson scored 32 points on 10-of-23 shooting from the field, and Julius Randle scored 20 points to go with eight assists and seven rebounds. With RJ Barrett (migraine) and Quentin Grimes (wrist) out on Friday, Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart started, with Immanuel Quickley seeing extended minutes.
Quickley scored a season-high 27 points off the bench.
The Knicks held the Wizards without a field goal from the 10-minute mark in the fourth quarter until the 1:44 mark, well after Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. emptied his bench.
Poole had a forgettable night, shooting just 2 of 11 from the field and missing all six of his attempts from downtown. Kyle Kuzma scored 19 for the Wizards and Deni Avdija added 18 points.
The Knicks have an opportunity to make it six wins in their last seven games with a victory over the Charlotte Hornets in the second leg of a back-to-back on Saturday.
That likely won’t happen, however, if the Knicks play as sloppy against the Hornets as they did for three quarters against the Wizards, whose two wins on the season tie only two other teams at the bottom of the standings.
The Knicks never truly created separation until the 4:44 mark of the fourth quarter, when Brunson’s pull-up 3 gave his team a 13-point lead — and gave him 32 points on the night.
New York is now 1-1 in group stage play of the In-Seaon Tournament after a Nov. 3 loss to the Bucks in Milwaukee.
