This isn’t a game that should have been close.
In fact, for the majority of the Knicks’ matchup against the league-worst Washington Wizards on Saturday, the game was a no-contest.
Mikal Bridges erupted for 20 points in the second quarter alone to open up a 25-point halftime lead, an advantage that swelled as large as 33 through two-and-a-half quarters.
And then complacency reared its ugly head. Like sharks that smell blood, the Wizards pounced on the opportunity.
After suffering two embarrassing losses to bottom-four teams each conference, the Knicks flirted with losing a third, blowing a substantial lead against the 15-win Wizards before pulling away with a 122-103 victory at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
The Wizards outscored the Knicks, 35-26, in the third quarter, then began the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run to make it a 92-88 game with 9:14 left in the final period.
Yet unlike their pitstops in San Antonio and Charlotte, the Knicks responded with a 19-6 run to put the Wizards away for good and punch their 44th win of the season.
The best way to get right after two bad losses to two bad teams?
Beating up on the worst team in all of basketball.
The Knicks were without Jalen Brunson (right ankle sprain), Miles McBride (a game-time scratch due to a left groin contusion) and rookie center Ariel Hukporti, whose continued absence due to a torn meniscus in his left knee leaves New York thin at center.
Washington Wizards head coach Brian Keefe, however, was quick to note the Knicks as more than just the sum of their All-Star parts.
“They’ve still got great players here,” Keefe said ahead of tipoff on Saturday. “We’ve got great respect for who they are. We always focus on ourselves first, but we know what they bring to the table. They’ve got a lot of good player still. Tough matchup tonight.”
On Saturday night, Keefe was right. And second-quarter Bridges was the toughest cover.
Bridges scored just four points on two-of-six shooting from the field in the first quarter but erupted for 20 points in just 7:58 in the second period, connecting on eight of his 10 attempts from the field and all four of his looks from downtown.
He tied Karl-Anthony Towns for third-most points scored by a Knicks player in a single quarter this season. Towns’ 25-point fourth quarter in a Jan. 4 matchup against the Chicago Bulls is the season-high, while Brunson’s 23-point outburst in the second quarter on Jan. 12 against the Milwaukee Bucks sits second.
Bridges went on to finish with 27 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field. Towns finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds, and OG Anunoby added 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field.
With Brunson and McBride out due to injury, Cameron Payne got the start and scored 10 quick points, finishing with 13 points and 7 assists on the night. Rookie Tyler Kolek also played 18 minutes on Saturday, bumped up in the rotation with McBride scratched late. Kolek ended the night with four points and eight assists, including seven in the second quarter alone — the second-highest assist total for any Knick this season, trailing only Brunson’s mark of nine dimes in a period.
“When he went out, we talked about it. You’re not replacing Jalen individually, it’s impossible,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said ahead of tipoff on Saturday. “So we have to do it collectively. We have to do it with our defense and our rebounding and playing together. We do that, we’re capable of winning.”
The Knicks held the Wizards to just 1-of-10 shooting from three-point range in the first quarter and one-of-six shooting in the second quarter before Washington erupted for 7-of-12 shooting from deep in the third quarter.
More concerning than the three-point looks were the unobstructed lanes to the rim: Wizards star Jordan Poole scored 25 points with only 13 coming from behind the arc or the foul line. Washington scored 35 points in a quarter for just the 24th out of 280 possible quarters on Saturday against the Knicks.
At least the Knicks don’t have to worry about more losses to bad teams. They also don’t have to worry about grueling road stretches.
“It’s lit. It’s good to be in front of the fans,” said Payne. “We need the juice.”
Saturday’s matchup was the first of five at home in the next six games for the Knicks.
Next up: some rest. New York has two days off before hosting the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.