4 days Ago By Stefan Bondy
The Knicks feasted on a bottom-dweller. A big part of a successful regular season is winning the games you’re supposed to, and the Knicks handled their business Monday night with a 134-106 bludgeoning of the Wizards. They led by double-digits for the final 39 minutes — and by as many as 34 points — with Jalen Brunson’s 26-point, 11-assist stat line serving as the most impressive.
It wrapped up, arguably, the Knicks’ easiest three-game stretch of the season with home wins over the Nets (twice) and Wizards. And unlike the Brooklyn matchups, Monday was never in doubt. A 37-12 run in the first quarter for the Knicks (8-6) took the fight out of the Wizards (2-11), who dropped their ninth straight and didn’t have the skill or desire to launch a comeback.
The only notable unrelaxed Knick was Tom Thibodeau, a coach who famously views every lead as an unpinned grenade. Thibs watched the reserves allow a fourth-quarter advantage drop to the mid-20s and he reinserted three starters, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby. They carried it until Thibodeau was comfortable again.
Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Hart, Anunoby and Bridges each had at least 14 points. Cam Payne added 17 points off the bench while hitting 5 of 6 treys.
Highlights were abundant for New York, but No. 1 easily belonged to Jericho Sims. With 6:09 left in the second quarter, Sims received a pocket pass from Brunson and lifted from the semicircle to throw down a jam on top of Washington’s Kyle Kuzma.
It was a move reminiscent of Blake Griffin’s heyday in that Sims, a Slam Dunk contestant in 2023, threw the ball into the net without touching the rim. The Wizards, meanwhile, didn’t have any highlights and are expected to land in the draft lottery. They have two gunners in Jordan Poole and Kuzma, plus a 19-year-old French rookie in Alex Sarr.
None of them managed more than 11 points Monday in MSG. Coached by former Knicks assistant Brian Keefe, the Wizards allowed the Knicks to shoot 56 percent — including 50 percent from beyond the arc on 40 attempts. It’s still early, but Washington has the makings of the NBA’s worst team, which actually hurts the Knicks since they own the Wizards’ top-10 protected first-round pick in 2025.
If it’s not conveyed in 2025, the pick becomes top-8 protected in 2026. If it doesn’t convey in 2026, it becomes two second-round picks. So the Knicks don’t want the Wizards to be too bad.
And that’s a wish that probably won’t come true this season. Either way, there’s nowhere for the Knicks schedule to go but to grow more difficult. They start a five-game road trip Wednesday at Phoenix (which is missing Kevin Durant), then Utah (which stinks but has the high-altitude home advantage), then Denver (Nikola Jokic is the early MVP), then Dallas (the reigning West champs) and Charlotte (not very good).
At home for the last four days against inferior opponents, the Knicks took care of what needed to be done..
