Winning, losing streaks collide when Knicks host Wizards
The New York Knicks will look to extend their five-game winning streak on Sunday night when they host the woeful Washington Wizards.
New York (46-25) heads into the final 11 games of its regular season 1 1/2 games behind Boston for second place in the Eastern Conference, keeping pace after escaping a 93-92 defensive struggle against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.
The win was the Knicks' first in nine games when scoring 100 points or less this season, but it improved New York to 22-0 when holding opponents to 102 points or less. Included in that perfect mark are a pair of wins over Washington, most recently a 132-101 rout on Feb. 3.
Mikal Bridges scored 23 points, Karl-Anthony Towns posted a 19-point, 15-rebound double-double, and Jalen Brunson scored 21 points in that win against Washington. The trio are three of New York's four leading scorers this season, paced by Brunson's average of 26.2 points per game.
The lopsided result from February is part of a dismal stretch in a trying season for the Wizards (16-54). Washington is just 3-18 since last seeing New York, and dropped its 15th consecutive decision on Saturday in a 132-111 drubbing by Oklahoma City.
Saturday's loss proved dubious for the Wizards on two noteworthy fronts.
First, the Wizards head into New York at risk of dropping a 16th straight, which would match the longest slump in franchise history. Washington teams lost 16 in a row in each of the previous two seasons, including twice during the 2024-25 campaign.
Meanwhile, Wizards forward Justin Champagnie was ejected after a shoving match with Oklahoma City's Ajay Mitchell turned into a fracas boiling over into the stands. Champagnie's status for the game with the Knicks was unclear as of early Sunday.
Washington also continues to deal with a rash of injuries. Former All-Star Trae Young scored 21 points on Monday against Golden State, his most since debuting in the Wizards lineup, but he has missed the last three games with quadriceps and back injuries, and his return this season is in question.
An elbow injury has sidelined second-year guard Kyshawn George since March 3, halting George's promising breakthrough as a reliable, double-figure point scorer.
Bilal Coulibaly led the short-handed Wizards on Saturday with 21 points, his third outing in the past four with at least 21 points.
"He's just growing," Washington coach Brian Keefe said of Coulibaly in the postgame news conference. "He had all the starts and stops with some of the injuries early, and I think he's just getting his rhythm. He's taken advantage of the opportunity. We'll obviously put the ball in his hands."
Coulibaly scored just three points in Washington's most recent meeting with New York but has posted double figures in 13 of the past 16 contests. Containing the guard figures to be a key for the Knicks defense, which at 110.3 points allowed per game ranks fifth-best in the NBA.
"We try to approach every team we play the same way, no matter what their record is," New York coach Mike Brown said. "We're going to approach our next game the same way -- respect our opponent no matter what the record is."