Washington fought until the end against a great Knicks team
The Washington Wizards faced the New York Knicks on Saturday night inside Capital One Arena. Despite a terrific effort, the shorthanded Wizards fell short as New York won, 136-132.
Jordan Poole (left hip contusion) was ruled out prior to tip-off while Kyle Kuzma (ribs) missed his 11th straight game.
Washington battled to a one-point lead at the end of the opening quarter. Bub Carrington went a perfect 3-3 from the field and Justin Champagnie continued his hot streak to lead the Wizards with seven points.
Poor transition defense was the theme of the second frame, as Brian Keefe’s squad failed to get back on defense following made baskets. New York capitalized to retake the lead, but that advantage was short-lived as Washington tied the game at 60 entering the break.
Karl-Anthony Towns took over for New York in the first half, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds at halftime. However, Washington adjusted our of the break, holding New York’s big man to just four points and one rebound in the third quarter.
Behind 14-29 shooting from 3-point range, Washington opened an eight-point lead heading into the final frame. Despite being down Poole and Kuzma, Keefe’s squad showed tremendous fight to that point.
Towns found his rhythm to begin the fourth quarter, breaking ankles and drilling a top-of-the-key 3-pointer to cut Washington’s lead to two with nine minutes remaining.
Justin Champagnie answered like he had all night, scoring five straight points. Kyshawn George secured a rebound and tipped it in to give the Wizards a four-point lead with five minutes to play.
New York kept clawing back and Champagnie continued pushing them away, drilling consecutive 3-pointers en route to a career-high 31 points.
Jalen Brunson scored five straight points down to stretch, giving him 46 on the night as New York tied the game. Bilal Coulibaly front-rimmed a potential game-winning jumper, Towns missed a last-second layup and the game went to overtime.
In the extra period, Jalen Brunson couldn’t be stopped as he scored his 55th point. New York closed out Washington for a narrow victory.