The Wizards struggled to get going offensively on Sunday night, falling to the Knicks, 101-97. On the night the Wizards honored the 40th anniversary of the Bullets’ 1977-78 championship season, Washington only shot 42.5% and had 14 costly turnovers in the loss. Bradley Beal led the team with 14 points, as seven players had eight or more points.
The Knicks came out scorching hot in the first half, making 58.5% of their field goals. Their high-scoring kept them ahead most of the game, while the Wizards struggled to get going. Both teams turned it over a bunch in the first half, but the Knicks converted on their turnover opportunities more.
Washington’s bench had 44 of the team’s 97 points in the game, giving the team energy at multiple times in the game. Ramon Sessions provided a spark in the first half, getting to the line five times. He would finish the game with 11 points, making all seven of his free throws. Kelly Oubre Jr. had a huge putback dunk in the fourth quarter and finished with 13 points.
The Wizards played small ball with Markieff Morris at the center position almost the entire fourth quarter. Washington was able to cut into the league by switching on defense and converting on offense. Tomas Satoransky had a big second half, and would finish the game with nine points and 10 assists.
Beal hit a big triple to tie the game at 88-88 with 4:24 remaining, and the teams went back-and-forth. Eventually, the Wizards took a 95-94 lead with 1:08 left on a Morris jumper.
Down one, Trey Burke would make a fast break lay-up and the foul with 35.0 seconds left. The Wizards had chances to even the game late, but the Knicks fouled up three to make it tough for the Wizards to tie it up.
“Our defense was good in the second half,” Scott Brooks said postgame. “We played harder and we played better in that second half defensively, but we’re struggling scoring the basketball right now.”
“We thought that we could just show up and play because they don’t have anything to play for,” Beal said after the game. “We just thought it was going to be a cake walk and they just smacked us in the mouth.”
Next up, the Wizards host the Spurs on Tuesday night at 7:00pm. Washington remains the No. 6 seed, one game ahead of Milwaukee.