Knicks roll past Wizards but lose Robinson to injury
If the Knicks are serious about those playoff aspirations, these are the games they have to win. The Wizards stink. They’re an insult to defense. They were also resting their best player, Bradley Beal, who leads the league in scoring.
So this was one of those gimme matchups and the Knicks handled their business.
Julius Randle dropped 24 points with 18 rebounds as the Knicks dominated the inside during a 109-91 victory Thursday. The Knicks (12-15) dominated the paint, outrebounded and outmuscled the Wizards (6-17), although the victory was somewhat diminished by Mitchell Robinson breaking his hand.
The starting center will be re-evaluated on Saturday in New York, the team announced.
Randle was the catalyst in the victory, boosting his All-Star bid and balancing another poor performance from RJ Barrett (eight points, 3-for-13 shooting).
Derrick Rose was also a big factor. In his second game since being acquired by the Pistons, the point guard was again a productive sparkplug off the bench, pushing the pace and scoring 14 points with four steals and six assists in 20 minutes. He was on the floor when the Knicks ran away in the second half.
Rose’s backcourt mate with the second unit, Immanuel Quickley, added 16 points in 22 minutes.
The Knicks, who had two days off and spent most of it in sunny Miami following Tuesday’s loss to the Heat, understood that a win was unnecessary under the circumstances.
“Definitely gotta take advantage,” Julius Randle said before the game. “First night of a back-to-back, we want to get off to a good start. So we definitely gotta take advantage and come in with the right focus.”
Tom Thibodeau wanted to avoid comfort.
“In the NBA, I think it’s very difficult because every player is a great player,” Thibodeau said. “You can’t get here without being a great player, so the important thing for us is to not let our guard down at all.”
The game was the start of an easy schedule stretch for the Knicks, who play seven of their next eight games at home with only two of their next nine opponents currently with winning records.
Madison Square Garden will begin hosting up to 2,000 fans in the middle of the homestand — Feb. 23 against the Warriors — which could boost home-court advantage. After Friday’s victory, the Knicks are 7-9 on the road and 5-6 at home. Thibodeau believes home-court advantage has been somewhat neutralized by the absence of fans.
“I do think that has impacted home court some,” the coach said. “I think the fans do make a big difference, whether it’s influencing, the energy that they bring to a game is important.”
