How It Happened: The Knicks jumped out to a 6-0 lead when Kristaps Porzingis crushed a putback dunk to provide the early momentum for the road team. New York’s fortunes quickly turned as Washington effectively snapped a three-game slide en route to a 119-112 victory on Thursday night. Shooting guard Bradley Beal (18 points) returned to the lineup after missing three straight games and the Wizards found the offensive rhythm that has eluded them throughout the start of the 2016-17 season. The Knicks cut the deficit to four points late in the second quarter but Washington pushed the advantage to 10 by halftime. In the third period, the Wizards dominated the action by outscoring New York 35-23.
The Knicks did not go down without a fight. New York rattled off a 15-2 run to cut the deficit from 22 to just nine points with two minutes remaining in the contest. After altering a John Wall layup attempt at the rim, Porzingis could not hit a runner in the lane with 54 seconds on the clock. Washington staved off the comeback bid despite the late game push from the road team.
Porzingis could not replicate his career performance from a night ago, finishing with 16 points. Carmelo Anthony was held in-check with 19 points and just one bucket behind the arc. For Washington, five players registered double figures in points and Wall led his team with 23 points in the win. The Wizards improved to 3-8 on the season while the Knicks fell to 5-7.
Knick of the Night: Derrick Rose posted 23 of his 27 points in the second half in an attempt to jumpstart the Knicks offense. The Knicks point guard connected on 8-of-18 attempts from the floor and 3-of-5 behind the arc.
Notables: New York is hopeful Brandon Jennings gained some confidence in the fourth quarter. Jennings scored 15 points in the final stanza and seemed to regain his shooting stroke, which could be extremely beneficial for the Knicks moving forward.
Statistically Speaking: The Wizards hit 15-of-25 shots from downtown in the home win.
Next Up: The Knicks boarded a plane following the contest back to New York. Thursday will offer a recovery day for the team after back-to-back contest and time to prepare for Sunday’s matinee against the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden.