The Knicks picked up their third consecutive win, as they defeated the Washington Wizards 134-106 on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
Here are some takeaways…
– Washington came into the night ranked as one of the worst defensive teams in basketball, and the Knicks took advantage of that from beginning to end. New York put up a season-high 40 points in the first quarter, dishing out 11 assists and shooting a whooping 58 percent from the field, including knocking down seven threes to open a double-digit advantage.
– With the big early lead on the second night of a back-to-back, Tom Thibodeau decided to stick with his expanded rotation as Pacome Dadiet saw the floor as part of the second unit, and the young rookie responded nicely by knocking down a pair of threes to help start the second quarter on a 15-4 run.
– New York went on to finish off a dominant first half with 73 points on 57 percent shooting from the field and 53 percent shooting from behind the arc while picking up 20 assists. Perhaps the biggest highlight of the first half came when Jericho Sims brought the MSG crowd and his teammates on the bench to their feet by putting Kyle Kuzma on a poster with a ferocious slam.
– It was much of the same coming out of the halftime break, as the Knicks just continued having their way with the Wizards nonexistent defense, opening things up on a 16-4 run. OG Anunoby had a bit of a quiet first half in the scoring department, but he put together a run of seven consecutive points in the third quarter to help him finish with 16 on the night.
– Jalen Brunson ended the third quarter with one of his famous scoring barrages, knocking down three straight threes one of which was a four-point play, to help him bounceback nicely from a quiet night against Brooklyn. The All-Star point guard had 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting and a season-high 11 assists to give him his second consecutive double-double.
– Thibodeau sent out a full second-unit to close things out early in the fourth, but he was none too pleased when Washington opened the quarter with 10 consecutive points. Backup PG Cameron Payne helped settle things down, though, as he knocked down three more threes to help keep the large advantage and close out the third consecutive win.
– With the big lead, Thibodeau was able to get Karl Anthony-Towns some much-needed rest late in the second-half after his fourth quarter fall in Sunday’s win over the Nets. The big man continued his spectacular start to the season, though, putting together his ninth double-double (26 points, 11 rebounds) across 25 minutes.
Game MVP: Jalen Brunson
New York dominated Washington from top-to-bottom, but the star point guard led the way with a game-high 26 points and his second consecutive double-double.
Highlights
Upcoming schedule
The Knicks will look to keep their winning ways going as they start a three-game road trip when they take on Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday at 10:00 p.m.