Knicks riding 3-game winning streak after blowout victory over Wizards

Suddenly, the Knicks are uncovering their rhythm, winning 4 of their past 5 games.

That streak could easy person been 5 consecutive if not for a arguable foul telephone connected Josh Hart successful the last seconds of a Nov. 13 crippled against the Chicago Bulls. Hart’s brushwood against Coby White’s afro connected a hopeless three-point effort sent White to the enactment for 3 escaped throws, handing the Knicks a gut-wrenching 124-123 loss.

But Monday night’s crippled near nary country for crunch-time drama. The Knicks jumped each implicit the Wizards successful the opening minutes and ne'er relented, cruising to a wire-to-wire 134-106 triumph astatine Madison Square Garden.

This was a crippled that felt implicit astir arsenic soon arsenic it began. Fueled by their strongest violative showing of the young play — and a woeful Wizards defence — the Knicks opened the archetypal 4th with a 40-point explosion, their highest-scoring 4th truthful acold this season. They built a 34-point pb by the 3rd 4th and sent fans location aboriginal with 1 of the astir ascendant performances of the season.

The triumph marked the Knicks’ archetypal three-game winning streak of the play and moved them to 8-6, a humble milestone for a squad with title aspirations aft blockbuster trades for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.

With momentum connected their side, the Knicks present look a five-game, 10-day West Coast roadworthy travel with stops successful Phoenix, Utah, Denver, Dallas, and Charlotte. They’ll deed the roadworthy 2 games supra .500 for the archetypal clip this season, acceptable to trial their advancement against stiffer competition.

Jalen Brunson and Towns enactment connected a clinic, combining for 50 points connected an businesslike 17-of-29 shooting from the tract and a scorching 8-of-13 from beyond the arc. Towns dominated the glass, grabbing 12 rebounds to spell on with 3 assists, portion Brunson dished retired 11 assists without a azygous turnover. Both stars person present recorded double-doubles successful consecutive games, underscoring their increasing chemistry arsenic the motor of the Knicks’ caller offense.

Bridges and Hart chipped successful 14 points apiece, portion Cam Payne had his champion outing of the play with 17 points, including 5-of-6 shooting from downtown. OG Anunoby added 16 points connected 50% shooting, and Jericho Sims brought the Garden assemblage to its feet with a ferocious poster dunk implicit Wizards prima Kyle Kuzma.

SIMS GOT 🆙

… and truthful did the seat 🤣 pic.twitter.com/obnPcRc3wx

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 19, 2024

Even rookie Pacome Dadiet had his moment, coming disconnected the seat to deed 3-of-6 from heavy for 9 points. It was his archetypal crippled this play with aggregate three-pointers, a assurance boost for the young prospect.

Defending the three-point enactment has been a persistent contented for the Knicks this season, but they constricted Washington to 11-of-33 from beyond the arc connected Monday. Still, they mislaid way of Corey Kispert and Carlton Carrington, who combined for 8 threes.

More impressively, the Knicks clamped down connected the Wizards’ apical scorers. Kuzma managed conscionable 11 points, portion Jordan Poole was held to a quiescent 8 points connected 7 changeable attempts.

The Wizards (2-11) are firmly successful the NBA Draft Lottery conversation, and portion the Knicks handled business, the level of contention volition emergence importantly during the upcoming roadworthy trip. Phoenix whitethorn beryllium without Kevin Durant, but Denver remains a formidable hostile acknowledgment to two-time MVP Nikola Jokic. Dallas is surging, and Utah’s scrappy benignant tin beryllium tricky.

For now, the Knicks volition instrumentality the wins nevertheless they come. Momentum is building, and each this squad needs is simply a small spot of a runway earlier it takes flight.