The first half in Washington was one of the Knicks’ best of the season. After a sluggish first few minutes, Bobby Portis and Frank Ntilikina took over, and the bench gave New York a big lead. They were up 70-54 at halftime but fell apart in the second half, and lost 122-115 to the Wizards.
The starters struggled in the second half and this time New York’s bench players couldn’t rescue them. The Wizards outscored them 59-29 to begin the second half.
Starting point guard Elfrid Payton struggled, finishing with just three points on 1-6 shooting. He was 1-4 on free throw attempts. Frank Ntilikina was a bright spot, finishing with 20 points and 10 assists. He was 6-9 on field goal attempts and 5-6 on free throw attempts.
The Knicks next game is at the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.
