NEW YORK (AP) – Julius Randle had 18 points and 17 rebounds, RJ Barrett had 18 points and the New York Knicks outscored the Washington Wizards 100-97 on Friday night.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope misses a potential 3-pointer in the buzzer for the Wizards, who have lost their last six games.
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Mitchell Robinson had 15 points and 12 rebounds, Evan Fournier had 15 points and Alec Burks added 12 as each of the Knicks’ starting five shots and double figures.
New York battled off the field, shooting just 34.4% (31-for-90). It showed the track as the Knicks missed their last seven shots, allowing the Wizards to make it to a point with 15 points.
“It shows you have no lead for sure,” said New York coach Tom Thibodeau. “(Kyle) Kuzma has some deep 3s and that could happen in this game. And then we missed some rabbits, we missed some open shots, and then you fight for your life.
The Knicks have won their last two games, both at home, after losing their two earlier on the road.
“It was a good win, we just have to finish the games better,” Randle said. “Of course we don’t want to put ourselves in that position to finish the game like that. But we have. We have some stops. Has some good rebounds.”
Kristaps Porzingis had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Kyle Kuzma also had 18 points for the Wizards, who lost nine of 11.
It was Porzingis’ second game back at Madison Square Garden after New York traded its fourth overall pick in the 2015 draft to Dallas on January 31, 2019.
He was invited during the pre-game introduction, was chased every time he touched the ball, and had thoughts about taking the winner before the Pope of the wing shot wrong.
“I enjoy playing at MSG, whether it was at home before or now on the road. It’s always exciting to get the biggest stage in the Boos,” said Porzingis. “It’s what it is. It’s now in the past. I love the city. I miss this city a lot. I miss a lot of people here. It’s what it is. But I really enjoyed my time here and I have. only good memories of this place.
New York had its biggest lead of the night at 96-81 on Barrett’s 3-pointer with four minutes left in the fourth quarter.
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Washington called timeout and then responded with a 16-2 run, capped by three 3-pointers from Kuzma, including his last that made it 98-97 with 42.4 seconds remaining.
In the next ball possession, Barrett missed a shot as Porzingis extended his hands and grabbed the rebound.
Instead of taking a timeout, Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. wanted Kuzma to attack the Knicks defense and maybe pull a foul.
Kuzma had the chance to put the Wizards in the lead, but missed a 3 by 6.6 seconds.
“That’s the question you play in the back of your head, do you take a timeout and let them put their defense down or do you have a stop and you go,” said Unseld Jr. “The thought was to attack down and I know he got down. He hit a few backs. So, he feels a little bit, but I prefer that he go down and maybe get on the line or the defense will collapse .
Porzingis then fouled Barrett, who hit a couple of free kicks to extend New York’s lead to 100-97 by 4.9 seconds.
Randle and Immanuel Quickley combined 25 points in the first half for New York, leading 54-47 at the end of the second quarter. The Knicks shot 43% (14 for 44) off the field despite shooting 5 for 15 over the 3-point line.
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Wizards: Washington has won 22 of its last 29 games against New York.
Knicks: Forward Feron Hunt was signed to a two-way contract Friday. He averaged 17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds in 37 games, each starting, with Dallas’ G League partner, the Texas Legends. … Of Randle’s 17 rebounds, 16 came on the defensive end. … Quickley struck out all of his nine free kicks. … The Knicks outscored the Wizards, 60-38.
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