Given to fill the absence of his injured star Jalen Brunson, the host New York Knicks will try to get back on track against the low Washington trolls on Saturday night.
New York (43-26) still has place # 3 in the Eastern Conference but is 3-4 since Brunson went down with a justified ankle in a loss for Los Angeles Lakers on March 6.
Knicks enters the game that comes from a couple of losses to sub-500 teams in San Antonio Spurs and Charlotte Hornets. New York is an average of 116.3 points per match but has failed to reach 100 points a total of four times since Brunson’s injury, including Thursday’s defeat 115-98 in Charlotte.
On a night where OG Anunoby’s 25 points and Karl-Anthony Towns ’24 led Knick’s points, the team shot a small 25.6 percent from 3 points.
“We didn’t do our 3, and many of them were good looks,” said New York coach Tom Thibodeau after the game. “You try not to let it take energy away from other parts of your game. Guys were very selfless, but we just didn’t. That’s where you have to count on your defense and recovery, and we got short.”
Behind Brunson’s team leading 26.3 points per match, Towns adds 24.4 points and 12.9 returns per competition. Thibodeau revealed Thursday that Brunson is out of his pedestrian boot and makes some light shooting. Knicks expects to have him back before the end of the regular season.
Washington (15-54) dropped his third straight match on Friday and fell home to Orlando Magic, 120-105.
The sorcerers are limping into the last three weeks of the season. After the worst season in franchise history a year ago, Washington’s next victory will surpass last season’s brand.
Owner of the league’s worst record, Wizards dragged with as many as 33 points in Friday’s loss. In defeat, beginner Alexandre Sarr Washington led with 19 points and 10 returns, marking the 19-year-old’s fifth straight game that scored at least 19 points. After a relatively slow start to his NBA career, Sarr has impressed a struggling team.
“There is always an adjustment period, but he has only developed every month for us,” said Wizard’s head coach Brian Keefe. “We see his shooting and points improve, but that’s really a bit of everything. It’s been his play, his ability to drive and the most important thing, which is his defensive versatility. We love how Alex is progressing and we still have a little more time to see it this year, so we look forward to it.”
Sarr is on average 12.8 points and 6.7 returns per match, while Jordan Poole goes with the magicians with 20.4 ppg.
A Washington loss on Friday would mark the fourth defeat to New York this season, and its ninth in a row against Knicks, which goes back to February 2023.
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