The New York Knicks fell apart in the fourth quarter, leading to a loss against the Washington Wizards in London. Check out our three takeaways from the game.
The New York Knicks and Washington Wizards are both struggling this season. Struggles were expected for New York, but Washington’s poor record is a surprise. With two bad teams heading overseas to the O2 Arena in London, it was anyone’s guess what kind of game we would get. It ended up being a hotly contested one that went right down to the wire.
The Wizards wound up winning the game 101-100, with the game-winning basket being credited to Thomas Bryant on a goaltend by Allonzo Trier.
Trier came from the corner to help on the rolling Bryant, rising to knock the shot attempt away. It was close, but the referees called it a goaltend, and the Wizards won the game as a result.
Thomas Bryant wins it for the @WashWizards! #NBALondon pic.twitter.com/dFxtlZYyFr
— NBA (@NBA) January 17, 2019
Immediate feelings of disappointment swept over Knicks fans. This was a game they controlled virtually from the opening tip-off. After scoring the first points of the game to take a 2-0 lead, Washington never led again until the fourth quarter. New York led by as many as 19 points in the first half, leading by double-digits for a majority of the second and third quarters.
From that standpoint, it was a disappointing outcome. Bradley Beal struggled to shoot the ball, scoring 26 points but making only 10-of-29 shot attempts, turning the ball over seven times as well.
Otto Porter Jr. scored 20 points off the bench, but when you hold the best player on the other team in check as the Knicks did, you should be in good position to win. Add in the fact that five Knicks scored in double-figures, including a team-high 25 from Emmanuel Mudiay, and it was an even more disappointing loss.
In the grand scheme of things, losses aren’t the worst thing for the Knicks. The more they lose, the better their draft position will be. However, this was a game that the Knicks could, and probably should, have won.
Here are three takeaways from the London game between the Knicks and Wizards.