Knicks 145, Wizards 113: “Tyler going nuclear is a nice victory cigar”

The Washington Wizards (16-55) are in a neck-and-neck race with the Indiana Pacers for last place in the conference. They had lost 15 games in a row before tonight’s tilt at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks (47*-25). The Wizards showed some signs of life in the first half, and a brief heartbeat after intermission, but their 16th loss was never really in doubt. New York took the W, 145-113, beating the Wiz for the 12th straight time.

New York started on the right foot, with Mikal Bridges (14 PTS, 6 AST) and Karl-Anthony Towns (26 PTS, 16 RBS, 9-13 FG) helping to build a small cushion. Washington kept up with them, though, with five points by Tristan Vukcevic (13 PTS) and Bub Carrington (14 PTS, 8 ASTS) getting to the line. Once again, New York allowed their opponents to shoot freely from the perimeter. Luckily for them, Washington’s not a strong three-point shooting team, making 4-of-10 from deep over the first 12 minutes. With the visitors coughing up the rock seven times, the Knicks built a head of steam and went up by double-digits late in the quarter.

The Knicks’ best stretch came midway through the quarter, with Towns flexing his muscles on the glass, Jalen Brunson (23 PTS, 4 AST) drawing contact, and Josh Hart (16 PTS, 6 RBS, 4 AST) logging rebounds, steals, and an alley-oop to Mitchell Robinson (10 PTS, 10 RBS, 2 BLK). Then the pendulum swung the other way. Jaden Hardy (25 PTS, 7-13 3PT) sparked a run with three triples in a short span—two assisted by Sharife Cooper (11 PTS)—narrowing the Knicks’ lead to 32-27 by the buzzer.