With just 2:51 left in the third quarter, the Knicks celebrated their 100th point, while the Washington Wizards barely reached triple digits with only 16 seconds of play left, during what was essentially garbage time. The Knicks’ fans, strong in numbers even on the road, filled the opponent’s arena with cheers for their team’s dominant performance.
The New York Knicks cruised to a decisive 132-101 victory over the Wizards at the Capital One Arena on Tuesday. This win was marred only by unfortunate injuries: Mohamed Diawara and Josh Hart both suffered ankle injuries, forcing them out of the game. They join Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson, who are also sidelined with ankle issues.
“We had to start off strong and just play hard,” Mikal Bridges commented. “They’re young and they can get out strong and fast and we just had to play our way.”
Riding a wave of success, the Knicks have now secured seven consecutive victories. Their next challenge comes on Wednesday against the Denver Nuggets, marking the second game of a back-to-back. The Nuggets, like the Knicks, faced a back-to-back situation, suffering a loss to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, whom the Knicks are set to play on Friday.
As a formidable contender in the Western Conference, the Nuggets present a much tougher test than the Wizards, who are currently battling to avoid the bottom of the NBA standings.
It appears unlikely that the Knicks will receive their conditional first-round pick from the Wizards. The Knicks hold a top-eight protected pick from Washington for the 2026 NBA Draft. However, should the Wizards secure a draft position between one and eight in June, the pick will transform into two second-round picks for 2026 and 2027 instead.
Things project to change in D.C. when Trae Young takes the floor for the Wizards after Washington sent CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert to the Atlanta Hawks for the All-Star point guard.
Young watched idly as his Wizards fell behind by 15 in the first quarter and 25 in the second before the Knicks made it a comically unserious game in the second half.
Every Knicks starter played well below their season minutes average as Bridges led the way with 23 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and two steals on 7-of-16 shooting from the field. Jalen Brunson shot 7-of-16 for 21 points and OG Anunoby finished with 19 points, a steal and a block.
Meanwhile, the Knicks defense held all Wizards scorers to less than 15 points. Former top-three pick Alex Sarr finished with 11 points and 9 rebounds on 11 shot attempts, and the Wizards made 11 threes on a miserable shooting night.
The Knicks have now held six of their last seven opponents to 100 points or less. They entered Tuesday’s matchup against the Wizards as the only team allowing less than 100 points per 100 possessions over their winning streak (95.1), a mark that improved with a complete defensive performance against an incomplete Washington team.
“I think just everybody is on the same page being together, being on one string and stepping up for each other is great to see,” Bridges said in his walk-off interview after the game. “Sometimes things happen so fast but when you go back and watch the film you see everyone trying to make the right play and help each other out.”
Head coach Mike Brown fully emptied his bench at the 9:29 mark of the fourth quarter. It might not be a feeling Brown can get used to given his team’s cake walk is over.
The Knicks are set to get a taste of their own medicine.
The Knicks’ opponents boast a combined record of 142-177 over the life of their seven-game winning streak. New York’s next four opponents leading into the All-Star break (Denver, Detroit, Boston, Indiana) are a combined 114-90 with the East-worst Pacers the only team below 30 wins on the docket.
