The Wizards believed in it, did everything to hang on throughout the game before being brought back to reality by the much more efficient Knicks. Washington thus measured the distance it had to make to get closer to the best teams in the East, starting with consistency and efficiency. Like Jordan Poole’s 2/11 shooting performance, while opposite, the Brunson-Quickley-Randle trio was clinical.
The New Yorkers quickly made the difference, driven by the outside skill of Donte DiVincenzo, Jalen Brunson and Immanuel Quickley to move to +12 (14-26).
Despite the activity of Bilal Coulibaly and defense and Danilo Gallinari in attack, Julius Randle took over to maintain a ten-point lead after 12 minutes (25-35). The 12-3 marked by three new 3-point baskets from Donte DiVincenzo made DC plunge to -21 (39-60), enough to push Deni Avdija then Kyle Kuzma to a reaction of pride which made it possible to bring back the gap at -11 at the break following a 15-5 (54-65).
Fifth loss in a row for the Wizards
Hope was almost reborn after the break as Jordan Poole finally began to find his way to the circle and Bilal Coulibaly struggled, passing to make Kyle Kuzma shine, or scoring. Corey Kispert at 3-points and Deni Avdija at the dunk thus managed to maintain the suspense at the start of the last act (84-89). Unfortunately for Washington fans, it didn’t take long for the final period to swing back to the New York side.
The evening leaders responded, starting with Immanuel Quickley, always there when the pressure increases a notch.
The guard made two baskets including a 2+1 and an assist for Jalen Brunson who then took over by serving Julius Randle before making two shots and a 3-pointer to seal the end of the suspense (92-105) . In a flash, New York regained control of the match and was able to finish without trembling to win 120-99. Enough to reassure them in their certainties and send the Wizards back to their studies after this fifth setback in a row.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Evan Fournier played again! In the preseason rotation, Evan Fournier had not yet set foot on an NBA court since the start of the regular season. It’s been done since last night since he came on for 16 minutes of play. If he was logically rusty in terms of shooting (1/6), the Frenchman gave his all, while Tom Thibodeau had to do with the absences of RJ Barrett (illness) and Quentin Grimes (hand).
– Bilal Coulibaly true to himself. The other Frenchman in the match made good choices in attack, even if he was not always rewarded. His contribution, however, will not have been enough to reverse the trend within a team that is still too inconsistent.
– Jordan Poole sinks. In tough conditions since the start of the season, the leader/back had his worst match under his new colors last night. A non-match, quite simply, which ended with a sad 2/11 shooting and 5 lost balls. A service that is cause for concern….
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
