New York Knicks @ Washington Wizards
Friday, November 17, 2023 at 7:00 PM ET
Capital One Arena, Washington, DC | Game ID: 22300028
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
WAS 25 29 30 15 99NYK 35 30 24 31 120
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Knicks beat Washington 120-99; Wizards out of contention in NBA In-Season Tournament
WASHINGTON -- — New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau is treating the NBA In-Season Tournament the same way he approaches other games.
“In season, out of season, any season, I love winning,” Thibodeau said. “That's all that matters. Get the win. They're keeping score. Try to win the game.”
Jalen Brunson scored 32 points and Immanuel Quickley added 27 to lift the Knicks to a 120-99 victory over Washington on Friday night, eliminating the Wizards from contention in this new tourney. Washington has dropped all three of its games so far in the in-season tournament. New York improved to 1-1.
Teams play four games apiece in the preliminary round , with the six group winners and two wild cards advancing. Point differential is a potential tiebreaker, so winning by 21 was a good result for the Knicks, but they didn't make any special effort to inflate the margin at the end. Twelve players received court time for New York.
“I just want to make sure we have one more point than they do," Thibodeau said.
New York has won five of six overall and sent the Wizards to their fifth straight defeat. The Knicks led by 21 in the second quarter, but Washington had the margin down to five on several occasions after halftime.
New York had an answer each time. It was 95-90 after Corey Kispert 's layup with 9:28 to play. Then the Knicks clamped down, holding Washington to two points over the next seven-plus minutes.
“I like how we kind of responded from their run when they cut it to five,” Brunson said. “That team can score the ball. Despite their record, they got a lot of talent over there.”
Brunson's 3-pointer made it 105-92 with 4:44 to play, and it was smooth sailing from there for the Knicks, who led 115-92 after a 3 by Quickley.
Washington entered the game ranked No. 1 in the NBA in pace at 104.6 possessions per game. But the Wizards were held under 100 points by the defensive-minded Knicks.
“They want to slow you down, play physical basketball, especially on the defensive end of the floor,” Washington's Tyus Jones said. “They want to play physical, hard-nosed, pack the paint, kind of wear you down throughout the night, throughout the game. That's what they did.”
Julius Randle scored 22 points for New York. Kyle Kuzma led the Wizards with 19, and Deni Avdija added 18. Randle had eight assists and seven rebounds, and Brunson had seven of each.
The Knicks outscored Washington 31-15 in the fourth quarter.
New York was up 35-25 after one. An 11-2 run capped by Donte DiVincenzo 's 3-pointer gave the Knicks a 60-39 lead.
“I thought Donte gave us great minutes and then Quick gave us great minutes,” Thibodeau said. “So we got terrific wing play from those two guys. And then Jalen was Jalen and Julius was Julius."
New York's RJ Barrett did not play because of an illness.
WAS KarmaHide StintsShow StintsHide PMShow PMHide KarmaShow KarmaHide ScoresShow Scores
Who
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NYKDD D. DiVincenzo
EF E. Fournier
IH I. Hartenstein
IQ I. Quickley
JB J. Brunson
JH J. Hart
JR J. Randle
JS J. Sims
MM M. McBride
MR M. Robinson
WASAG A. Gill
BC B. Coulibaly
CK C. Kispert
DA D. Avdija
DG D. Gafford
DG D. Gallinari
EO E. Omoruyi
JP J. Poole
KK K. Kuzma
LS L. Shamet
TJ T. Jones
NYK/WAS the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur