The New York Knicks finally secured a victory over the depleted Washington Wizards.
This was the New York Knicks’ last game of the year and the decade. It was a must-win 107-100 victory over the Washington Wizards, avenging last Monday’s embarrassing loss. Again, the Wizards were decimated by injury, with Isaiah Thomas the only starter in the game. Bradley Beal was sidelined with a leg injury.
The Wizards stayed in this game due to the Knicks’ 21 turnovers and 25 personal fouls. The Wizards had 28 points off the turnovers and 28 points off the personal fouls.
The Knicks blew a 15-point lead in the first half, with the Wizards even gaining the lead. The Knicks held on and led by one at halftime, 59-58.
Had it not been for the turnovers and personal fouls this would have been a slam dunk to grade, but they must be taken into consideration.
RJ Barrett played 31 minutes and had 14 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, and five rebounds.
Welcome to New York, Julius Randle. After his third consecutive 30-point game, Knicks fans are finally seeing the player that was promised to them in the offseason.
Randle led the team with 30 points on 11 of 21 shooting, and he led the team with 16 rebounds. This should definitely be a night for him, but he also had five turnovers, which kept the Wizards in the game.
Elfrid Payton needs to find his way around the zone defense that caused his six turnovers. He went three games before he got one turnover, but against Washington he was a turnover machine. With the giveaways, Payton had only four points and four rebounds.
Mitchell Robinson‘s four personal fouls held him to 12 minutes, two of which came in the first quarter. He also had nine points, nine rebounds, and two blocks.
Bobby Portis was great off the bench, with 17 points and three rebounds.
Other Takeaways
- Marcus Morris, Sr.’s five personal fouls held him to 23 minutes during which he had 10 points and four rebounds.
- Interim coach Mike Miller said of Frank Ntilikina, “He was great in that second unit.” The Frenchman had eight points, four rebounds, and five assists.
- Gary Payton II had six steals in Monday’s game and six steals again on Saturday. He also contributed 15 points to the Wizards’ efforts.
- Isaiah Thomas and Jordan McRae both had 20 points to lead the Wizards.
- Coach Miller’s record is now 5-6, including a pair of two-game winning streaks.
The New York Knicks begin 2020 at home against Carmelo Anthony and the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 1.