The New York Knicks shuffled their roster last week when they traded RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to the Toronto Raptors to land OG Anunoby along with Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn.
While many teams take a few games, if not longer, to mesh with a new addition, the Knicks are unbeaten since the deal and will attempt to run their winning streak to a season-high four games Saturday night when they visit the struggling Washington Wizards.
New York is on its fourth three-game winning streak of the season, but in the previous three instances, the run was thwarted by Boston, Minnesota and Milwaukee.
The Knicks are on their streak after going winless during last week’s three-game trip, which featured the final two games with Barrett and Quickley. After taking a 140-126 loss in Indiana, the Knicks earned a six-point win over Minnesota and a 16-point victory over Chicago before cruising to a 128-92 rout in Philadelphia on Friday.
New York posted its most lopsided win of the season by hitting 18 3s, equaling its third-highest total. The Knicks led by as many as 39 and shot 48.3 percent while overcoming Julius Randle missing 10 of 11 shots in 30 minutes.
Jalen Brunson scored 29 points in 32 minutes while New York’s bench combined for 49 points as Quentin Grimes contributed 19. Isaiah Hartenstein continued to play effectively at center by getting 17, and Anunoby chipped in 11, giving the forward 39 points in three games with the Knicks.
“The way we’ve been able to gel so fast, it’s been great,” Brunson said. “We’ve just got to continue to get better.”
Washington is on a three-game losing streak since earning a 110-104 home win over the Brooklyn Nets on Dec. 29. After taking a four-point loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, the Wizards suffered a pair of losses in Cleveland by a combined 63 points.
Washington followed its 140-101 loss on Wednesday by taking a wire-to-wire 114-90 setback Friday night. The Wizards trailed by 12 at halftime, as many as 29, and took their 15th double-digit loss by allowing 53.2-percent shooting and 16 3s after surrendering 20 in Wednesday’s game.
Friday marked the 21st time an opponent shot at least 50 percent against the Wizards, who are 1-21 in those games. Washington also yielded at least 15 3s for the 16th time, and its offense could not keep pace by shooting 41.7 percent and missing 21 of 30 attempts from beyond the arc.
Tyus Jones led the Wizards with 16 points, but Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole struggled, getting held to a combined 11 points on 4-of-18 shooting from the field.
“I felt we took more pride in what we were trying to do across the board,” Washington coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “It was much better. Defensively, particularly in the first half, I thought we were really good.”
The Knicks are 8-2 in their past 10 meetings with the Wizards.
–Field Level Media
