Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns lead Knicks on romp past Wizards
Jalen Brunson of the Knicks watches a thre- point attempt during the first half against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden on Monday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Call it a winning streak.
Jump-started by a three-point barrage in the first quarter and pushed to the finish line by a balanced scoring effort and continued smooth shooting in the second half, the Knicks coasted to a 134-106 victory over the Wizards at Madison Square Garden on Monday night for their first three-game winning streak of the season.
The Knicks (8-6), who scored a season high in points and shot a season-best 50% from three-point range (20-for-40), are two games over .500 for the first time. They never let the Wizards (2-11) get their fingerprints on the final three quarters, commanding a double-digit lead for the final 39:11.
The Knicks shot 7-for-10 from three-point range in their 40-point first quarter, led by as many as 25 points in the first half and brought a 109-75 lead into the fourth quarter.
“The ball is going in,” Jalen Brunson said. “Usually on back-to-backs, we have tired legs. But, I mean, the ball was going in, and I think it was an emphasis for us just to play with a little extra pace tonight because we knew how they were going to play and we just had to match their energy from the start.
“You can’t look at another team’s record. Besides that, anyone can be beaten on any given night. So we just had to match the intensity.”
Brunson bounced back from a season-low 12-point performance in Sunday’s 114-104 win over the Nets with 26 points Monday. He shot 9-for-15, including 5-for-9 on three-pointers.
Brunson, who also had 11 assists and zero turnovers, recorded his 30th career double-double. After averaging a career-high 6.7 assists last season, he is averaging 7.3 this season. He has 36 assists to only eight turnovers in his last four games.
“He’s creating a lot,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We’re getting easy baskets, we’re getting open threes. We’re getting a lot of things that we want to get. That’s huge. When one guy starts doing it, everyone starts doing it.”
All five starters were in double figures as Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points with 12 rebounds, OG Anunoby had 16 points and Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges each had 14. Cameron Payne had 17 points off the bench, including 11 in the fourth quarter, and seven assists.
No Knick played more minutes than Bridges’ 34:32, which is useful considering that they will begin a five-game road trip on Wednesday night in Phoenix.
The Knicks recorded a season-high 37 assists for their fifth 30-assist game of the season.
“I think we’re just playing the right way, playing off each other,” Bridges said. “We got a lot of guys that are capable of driving, shooting. So we’re just trying to make it tough for teams to guard us, so just keeping everybody involved.”
In the only lead change of Monday’s game, a layup by Brunson gave the Knicks their first lead at 13-12 with 7:45 left in the first quarter. The Knicks extended their lead to 30-19 on Anunoby’s dunk 4:33 later for their first double-digit edge.
Reserve center Jericho Sims threw down a monster one-handed dunk on Kyle Kuzma with 6:09 left in the second quarter and completed the three-point play to give the Knicks a 60-37 lead.
“He’s done a good job,” Thibodeau said. “Defensively, he’s very good. And then, I think, as time goes on, he’s going to find there’s the over-help to get out of the screens quicker and to put the pressure on the rim.
"And his athletic ability, I mean he’s a freak athletically in terms of the things he can do. I think having that threat, the vertical threat at the rim, is huge for your offense.”
Said Towns, “Oh, I had a front-row seat [to the dunk]. It was great. Just to see Jericho aggressive and confident I think speaks volumes to his professionalism, him always staying ready and him believing in his talent. He’s an amazing player and an amazing teammate.”
Sims had a season-high seven points in 19:18 off the bench.
The Knicks went 5-for-10 from three-point range in the third quarter, including a 1:14 span late in the period when Brunson hit three consecutive three-pointers, capped by a four-point play with 53 seconds left in the quarter.
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
