Knicks extend streak to 7 as Hart, Diawara get hurt in win vs. Wizards
The Knicks scored their 100th point with 2:51 left in the third quarter. The Washington Wizards crossed the 100-point mark with 16 seconds remaining before a strong Knicks road contingent serenaded their team with cheers in enemy territory.
Call it a scheduled victory for the New York Knicks, who wiped out the Capital One Arena floors with the home team in a 132-101 victory on Tuesday. Their only loss came after two untimely injuries: Mohamed Diawara twisted his ankle in the second quarter and Josh Hart twisted his ankle in the third. Both left the game and did not return, joining Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson, who are also each out with their ankles monitored.
“We had to start strong and play hard,” Mikal Bridges said. “They’re young and they can come out strong and fast and we just had to play our way.”
The Knicks have now won seven straight games and have a chance to make it eight Wednesday in the back-to-back against the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets also lost to the Detroit Pistons – who the Knicks will face on Friday – on Tuesday in the first leg of the back-to-back.
And the Nuggets, title contenders in the very tight Western Conference title race, will pose a much tougher challenge than the Wizards, who are in a four-way race to the bottom of the NBA standings.
It’s safe to say the Knicks won’t get that conditional first-round pick from the Wizards after all. The Knicks own a protected top-eight pick from the Wizards in the 2026 NBA Draft, but if Washington ends up drafting between one and eight in June, the pick will instead pass on in the form of a pair of second-round picks in 2026 and 2027.
Things should change in DC when Trae Young takes the floor for the Wizards after Washington sent CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert to the Atlanta Hawks for the All-Star point guard.
Young idly watched his Wizards fall behind by 15 in the first quarter and 25 in the second before the Knicks made it a comically unserious game in the second half.
Each Knicks starter played well below their season minutes average as Bridges led the way with 23 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and two steals on 7-of-16 shooting from the field. Jalen Brunson shot 7 of 16 for 21 points and OG Anunoby finished with 19 points, a steal and a block.
Meanwhile, the Knicks defense held all Wizards scorers to under 15 points. Former top-three pick Alex Sarr finished with 11 points and 9 rebounds on 11 shot attempts, and the Wizards made 11 threes on a miserable shooting night.
The Knicks have now held six of their last seven opponents to 100 points or fewer. They entered Tuesday’s game against the Wizards as the only team allowing fewer than 100 points per 100 possessions during their winning streak (95.1), a mark that improved thanks to a complete defensive performance against an incomplete Washington team.
“I think everyone is on the same page, being together, being on one rope and supporting each other, it’s great to see,” Bridges said in his post-match interview. “Sometimes things happen so fast, but when you watch the film you see everyone trying to make the right play and helping each other.”
Head coach Mike Brown completely emptied his bench at 9:29 of the fourth quarter. It might not be a feeling Brown can get used to considering his team’s cake walk is over.
The Knicks are ready to get a taste of their own medicine.
The Knicks’ opponents are a combined 142-177 during their seven-game winning streak. New York’s next four opponents before the All-Star break (Denver, Detroit, Boston, Indiana) are a combined 114-90, with the East-worst Pacers the only team under 30 wins on the schedule.
