Someway, somehow, the New York Knicks found a way to beat a gritty Washington Wizards team on the second leg of back-to-back Saturday, winning in overtime by a score of 136-132 in a back-and-forth thriller that included 31 lead changes. The Knicks have won seven games in a row and improved to 22-10, while the Wizards’ awful season continues as they fall to 5-24.
Jalen Brunson had a masterful performance against the Wizards
After a few inauspicious games from Jalen Brunson around the Christmas holiday, he has now returned to his All-NBA form and had undoubtedly his best performance of the season against the Wizards.
Brunson scored 55 points on 18-for-31 shooting from the floor and dished nine assists. He scored a remarkable 42 of his points in the second half plus the five-minute overtime, and propelled the Knicks to a comeback win down the stretch.
Brunson hit several tough shots in the final minutes of regulation, including the game-tying floater to send the game to overtime. He took over the game at a time they needed it, as they looked to be in jeopardy of suffering a crushing loss to a team with the NBA’s worst record.
Karl-Anthony Towns delivered a strong bounce-back performance
After a handful of relatively quiet games from Karl-Anthony Towns, largely due to being in foul trouble, he bounced back with a tremendous performance against Washington.
Towns scored 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds while also blocking two shots and hitting two threes. He was a team-high +8 on the night and contributed many clutch shots down the stretch as well. He hit both of his three-pointers in the fourth quarter and kept the Knicks in the game while Brunson was getting a rest.
Moreover, Towns avoided getting into foul trouble with just three personal fouls on the night. Fouls had been causing issues for Towns of late, and he leads the NBA in that category with 108. By limiting the fouls, he was able to stay on the court much more and provided a positive impact on both ends.
The Knicks struggled to shoot from three again
For the second consecutive game, the Knicks struggled at shooting the ball from outside the arc. Against the Wizards, they shot just 25% (10-for-40) from three-point range, which follows a game in which the Knicks shot just 4-for-15 from three-point range in their win over the Magic on Friday.
In comparison, Wizards guard Justin Champagnie knocked down five threes on his own, part of a night where Washington shot 44.8% (17-for-38) from beyond the arc.
However, the Knicks were able to overcome their shooting slump and come away with wins thanks to their dominant paint presence. Against Washington, New York scored an astounding 78 points in the paint and 14 second-chance points.
Overview
It was an ugly win, but it counts the same as a blowout, so the Knicks will take that as they get a much-needed rest day on Sunday. They will stay in Washington to face the Wizards once more on Monday to close out 2024.