Perhaps it was the late-night flight from Orlando, but the New York Knicks admitted they were a step slow Saturday night before Jalen Brunson engineered an overtime victory over the host Washington Wizards.
With a day of rest in between, the Knicks attempt to get off to a better start and stretch their winning streak to a season-high eight Monday night when they take on the Wizards again in the nation’s capital.
New York has five victories by single digits in its best run since winning nine straight Jan. 17-Feb. 1, 2024. The Knicks have scored at least 130 three times during this run while playing three games against teams under .500.
After pulling away for a 23-point win over the Orlando Magic on Friday, the most difficult of those games against losing teams occurred Saturday when the Knicks needed overtime to earn a 136-132 win over Washington. Brunson scored 55 points for his second-highest point total, with 42 coming after halftime when the Knicks erased an 11-point deficit and tied the game in the final seconds.
“We needed it,” New York’s Josh Hart said. “This one was a tough one for us. Back-to-back. I felt a little old today. So a lot of us felt the same way. We were a little slow. But he made big shots. That’s why he’s the captain. Find a way to win.”
Brunson (right calf tightness) is listed as questionable for Monday’s game.
The Knicks are hoping their defense is improved from Saturday when it matched a season high in points allowed. Brunson’s big night helped compensate for the defensive woes as the Knicks shot 52.6 percent.
Brunson has led the Knicks in scoring four times during their winning streak, while others have made massive contributions. Mikal Bridges scored 41 Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs while Karl-Anthony Towns has three 30-point games in the streak, including 30 and 14 rebounds Saturday.
The Wizards are 3-6 since their 16-game losing streak and are coming off their closest margin of defeat. Washington scored its second-most points of the season and shot at least 50 percent from the field for the third time (51.6 percent).
Julian Champagnie scored 31 after totaling 14 in his previous three games. Malcolm Brogdon added 22 for his third-highest point total this season in a game when the Wizards hit 17 3s but could not stop Brunson and allowed 78 points in the paint.
“This team is actually just getting better every day,” Brogdon said. “We won that one game — maybe that was Denver, or whatever game that was — and we’ve seen ourselves, even with the losses after that game, get better every day, every practice, every game.”
Washington is hoping to get Kyle Kuzma back from a rib injury that has cost him 12 games. He has not played since Nov. 27 but could return Monday.
–Field Level Media
