By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The retooled New York Knicks already showed a glimpse of what they are capable of after crushing the Washington Wizards, 117-94, in the ongoing NBA preseason on October 10, 2024.
After a tightly contested win over the Charlotte Hornets in their preseason opener, the Knicks displayed better team chemistry this time and hosted a lopsided affair against Washington.
Washington still held a slim three-point advantage after the first quarter of action but New York responded with its best scoring frame of the game, dropping 35 points to turn things around entering the last two quarters.
The Knicks’ momentum-changing second-quarter performance steered them to a 15-point cushion, completely taking control of the game behind Karl-Anthony Towns’ hot shooting from the field.
Towns, who became New York’s newest addition after getting traded by the Minnesota Timberwolves for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, top-scored the Knicks with 25 points built from 10 made free throws.
Aside from his solid scoring output, the stretch frontcourt force also tallied 12 big rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal.
Backstopping Towns is star floor general Jalen Brunson who contributed 23 markers built from an efficient 7/10 shooting from the field.
The leftie point guard buried two three-point shots and also made a living in the charity stripe after going 7/8 from the free throw line.
After New York’s resurgence in the second canto, the duo helped them sustain their momentum in the second half by punishing the smaller Washington defenders.
Mikal Bridges also impressed with his new team and chipped in 16 markers derived from a 6/11 production from the field while Cameron Payne delivered 14 points and four dimes.
On the other hand, the Wizards are yet to enter the NBA preseason winning column, losing all of their contests against the Knicks and the Toronto Raptors during the opener.
