The New York Knicks were ready to host the Washington Wizards for the second game of their two-game set. They came out of Tuesday’s game with a 131-113 win. Part of that was because of their explosiveness from start to finish. When playing back-to-back games, it is not unusual that a team who won the first game would struggle in the second. The team that loses is usually the team that enters the game with the most energy. The Wizards let it be known they were not handing the Knicks a win on a silver platter. They had to work hard for it, and that they did.
To start the game, the Knicks were out of synch as they were down 7 early. Russell Westbrook had the chance to strengthen the Wizards’ lead to 8. That did not happen, though. He was sent to the line and missed both of his free throws. After being down 9 halfway through the quarter, coach Thibodeau wanted to talk it over. Following the timeout, the Knicks went on a 9–2 run to come within 2. However, they ended the quarter down 5 – despite shooting 29% from the field and 0-for-7 from downtown. It was a 25-20 game going into the second.
Just 2 minutes into the second quarter, the Knicks were down 13. Immanuel Quickley gave his team their first three-pointer of the night at the 6:45 mark. The Knicks were able to cut their deficit to 8 past the midway point of the quarter. They would not get any closer than that. With under 4 minutes left in the half, they were down 17. Having scored 69 points in the first half of Tuesday’s game, the Knicks were only able to rake up 45 tonight. This would be their worst first half all season long, only 1-for-14 from three-point land and 16-for-50 from the field. The Wizards were ahead 60-45 at the break.
With 5 minutes gone by in the third quarter, the Knicks found themselves in another 14 point hole. The Wizards took another 17 point advantage toward the latter part of the quarter. The Knicks tried to come back with Julius Randle and RJ Barrett’s three-pointers but would not be successful. They could not get any stops, and every time they would score, they allowed the Wizards to respond. Barrett was persistent, though, at trying to give his team momentum heading into the fourth. His put-back layup at the buzzard made it a 78-67 game going into the final quarter.
To begin the fourth quarter, Quickley’s s floater and Taj Gibson’s dunk allowed the Knicks to come within 6. That was the closest they have been to the Wizards since they were down 1 in the first quarter. Two back-to-back three-pointers by Alec Burks cut it within 3. Barrett tied the game with a free throw at the 4:45 mark. Another three-pointer by Quickley gave the Knicks their first lead of the game with just over 4 minutes remaining. They never looked back. Burks was fouled in the last 3 seconds and hit both clutch free throws to put this one away. The Knicks outscored the Wizards 39-24 in the fourth. As a result, they achieved a 106-102 come-from-behind victory.
This win marks a sweep in the 2-game set against the Wizards. The Knicks are now 6-1 in their last 7 home games. It is also their second-largest come-from-behind win. They played the Jazz on January 6th and came out on top after being down 18. Tonight, they were down 17 twice and were able to handle business.
Burks led the team with 27 points. This was his fourth straight game with 20 points or more. Behind him was Barrett with 24 points. Although he had a slow start, he was able to knock down 19 of those points in the fourth. Quickley had a 16 point night. Randle, who was playing through some thigh pain, was able to muster 13 points.
“We really just played together as a team and made it tough on Brad Beal and Russ,” Barrett said. “We were able to get stops and fast breaks and got the win.”
Up Next:
Both teams will be back in action on Saturday, March 27th, at 8:00 pm. The Knicks will travel to Milwaukee to face the Bucks. The Wizards will head back home to host the Pistons.
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