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 Eventually Washington staved off the comeback attempt as guards
Bradley Beal and John Wall made big shots down the stretch of the
Wizards' 111-108 victory, spoiling the debut of New York interim
coach Kurt Rambis Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Beal scored seven of his 26 points during the final 12 minutes when
the Wizards never allowed the Knicks to lead by more than one. Wall
scored 15 of his 28 in the final quarter when Washington did not
trail for the final 6:18.
It seemed Washington had the game in hand with about four minutes
remaining. Beal knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:58 remaining and
Wall connected on consecutive fadeaway jumpers before hitting a
3-pointer with 1:51 remaining for a 106-96 lead.
"I think with me, I took one bad shot and had a shot blocked, that's
two times in a row," said Wall, who added 17 assists. "Luckily Brad
took a charge that would have been a big turning point of the game.
They made some shots. We went for steals at times when we shouldn't
have."
Washington did not make another field goal the rest of the way and
staggered to the finish, allowing New York to score 10 of the next
11 points to get within 107-106 on a 3-pointer by guard Langston
Galloway. Galloway's basket might have given the Knicks the lead but
with 44.3 seconds left, Beal drew a charge on guard Arron Afflalo.
"We weren't just locked in at the end of the game," Beal said. "At
the end of the day a win's a win, we'll take it.
Even with Wall knocking down four free throws in the final seven
seconds, the Wizards nearly allowed the Knicks to force overtime.
Nobody touched Galloway but his deep 3-pointer was long at the
buzzer and Washington (23-27) escaped with its third win in its last
nine games.
"That is all on us," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "We have to
at some point, stand up and close games. We did everything you could
do wrong down the stretch. Instead of playing solid, we went for
steals, we left open threes when that is all they need. It is a win.
Trust me, I am happy. It is tough winning in this league."
Getting wins remained difficult for the Knicks (23-32), who lost
their sixth straight and for the 10th time in 11 games.
New York lost despite 33 points from forward Carmelo Anthony, who
expressed surprise at the firing of coach Derek Fisher but expressed
support for team president Phil Jackson's plan.
The Knicks trailed by as many as 16, marking the ninth time during
this skid they have trailed by at least double-digits at some point.
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"We didn't get our defense organized," Rambis said. "We knew that
was going to be a priority for going into the ballgame but it took
us awhile to get our bearings."
The Knicks trailed by 14 after the first quarter and by 13 at
halftime before forcing the game into an 83-83 tie entering the
fourth. They were in position to win because rookie forward Kristaps
Porzingis scored 14 of his 20 points in the third.
"It was embarrassing," New York guard Sasha Vujacic said. "We had a
certain game plan. We knew how Washington plays and they had too
many leak-outs. Our defensive balance was completely out of order."
New York took three one-point leads at 87-86, 89-88 and 92-91. After
getting the final lead, Anthony and Porzingis combined to go 3-of-8
down the stretch.
Before the drawn-out final two minutes, Wall had 11 points as the
Wizards sprinted to a 35-21 lead after the opening quarter and had a
63-50 edge at halftime.
"It was disappointing," Anthony said of the latest slow start by New
York.
NOTES: New Knicks coach Kurt Rambis attributed the recent slip in
play to selfishness and said he told the team "they must find a way
to get into the playoffs." Asked about Rambis' comments about the
postseason, New York F Carmelo Anthony said his new coach was spot
on: "That should be our goal as a team. It was our goal and it
should be our goal now." ... Washington G Gary Neal (sore right leg)
sat out and missed his ninth game of the season. ... Wizards F/C
Nene returned after missing two games with an injured left calf. ...
Tuesday marked the 14th game the Knicks have played following an
in-season coaching change. Before Tuesday, the most recent one was a
121-79 win over Portland on March 14, 2012, when Mike Woodson took
over for Mike D'Antoni. ... New York F Kristaps Porzingis will head
into the All-Star break with 105 blocked shots, two more than the
previous team record by a rookie set by Patrick Ewing in 1985-86.
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