NEW YORK (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had 31 points and 11 rebounds, Mikal Bridges scored 27 points and the New York Knicks beat the Washington Wizards 122-103 on Saturday night.
OG Anunoby had 23 points and Cam Payne chipped in 13 for the Knicks, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Jordan Poole scored 25 points and Marcus Smart added 17 off the bench for the Wizards, who have lost four straight games.
The Knicks were ahead 82-51 with 6:44 remaining in the third quarter and cruising to an easy victor before Washington, which has the worst record in the NBA, mounted a wild comeback that fell short.
The Wizards outscored New York 25-10 over the final six minutes of the period and trailed 92-76 heading into the fourth quarter.
Washington then rattled off 12 consecutive points, capped by Smart’s 3-pointer that made it 92-88 with 9:14 left in regulation
But the Knicks regained control of the game with a 9-0 run of their own to extend the lead 101-88 with 7:15 left in regulation to put the game out of reach.
Takeaways
Wizards: Washington was just 1 for 10 from 3-point range in the first quarter before finishing 11 for 36 for the game.
Knicks: Payne scored 10 points in the first quarter starting in place of Deuce McBride, who has a bruised left groin. McBride has been starting with Jalen Brunson sidelined by a sprained right ankle.
Key moment
Payne's only basket after the first quarter was a 3-pointer with 8:55 to play after Smart's 3 that had made it a four-point game. That triggered a 30-15 run to end the game.
Key stat
Seldom-used rookie Tyler Kolek had a career-high eight assists, including seven in the first half.
Up next
New York continues its three-game homestand Tuesday against Dallas. Washington hosts Toronto on Monday.
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This story has been updated to show that Karl-Anthony Towns scored 31 points. A previous version stated that he had 29.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
The Associated Press