Josh Hart’s triple-double and Karl-Anthony Towns’ dominance propel Knicks over Wizards, 126-106

The New York Knicks leaned on a triple-double from Josh Hart and a strong fourth quarter from Karl-Anthony Towns to pull away from the Washington Wizards, securing a 126-106 victory at Capital One Arena.

Hart finished with 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Towns added a commanding 32 points on 13-of-19 shooting and 13 rebounds. The victory, which marked the Knicks’ eighth straight win, was sealed with a dominant 29-18 final quarter.

Despite the eventual margin, the game was a grind through the first three quarters. No team managed to pull ahead by double digits until early in the fourth, when a Miles McBride steal and fast-break layup gave the Knicks their first significant cushion at 103-92. From there, Towns took over, scoring 11 points in the final frame, including two emphatic dunks on back-to-back plays that sent the Knicks’ lead soaring to 120-99. By the closing moments, “Let’s go Knicks” chants echoed through the arena.

Hart’s performance was nothing short of spectacular. After a scoreless first quarter, he exploded for 17 points in the second, helping the Knicks stay competitive during a tightly contested first half. He finished the night shooting 7-of-15 from the field, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.

The Wizards didn’t go down without a fight, and the night took a worrying turn in the third quarter when rookie guard Bub Carrington suffered a hard fall after colliding with OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa. Carrington left the court in a wheelchair, and while his diagnosis was limited to a post-traumatic headache, the Knicks outscored the Wizards 40-26 following the incident.

Jalen Brunson and Anunoby each contributed 18 points, with Anunoby hitting a pair of clutch three-pointers early in the third quarter to give the Knicks a 69-65 lead they would never relinquish. Mikal Bridges added 13 points, while McBride chipped in 8 points off the bench. Towns’ effort included a balanced attack, with 11 points and 10 boards in the first half and another 10 points in the third quarter before his late-game heroics.

“At some point, if you’re doing the right thing, good things come from that and you go on runs and sometimes it’s an offensive run. It can be a defensive run, as well. I liked that our defense was strong. Our rebounding was strong. We were high assists. We were low turnovers. We always say, defend, rebound, attack the paint, share the ball. If we do that, we’re gonna be in a good position to win.”

– Tom Thibodeau

The Wizards, playing with some reinforcements as Kyle Kuzma returned from injury to score 9 points off the bench, saw standout efforts from Jonas Valanciunas, who posted 22 points as a reserve, and starters Malcolm Brogdon and Alexandre Sarr, who each scored 18.

The Knicks’ struggles from beyond the arc in the first quarter, where they went 1-of-11, didn’t derail their offensive efficiency. They rebounded to shoot 14-of-33 from deep the rest of the game and dominated the boards 54-46. Additionally, their ball movement shone with 34 assists compared to just 25 by Washington.

Up-next: The Knicks (22-10) will host the Jazz (7-24) on January 1st from 7:30pm.