National Basketball Association
Washington 113, New York 110
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 19, 2017
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Officials: #36 Brent Barnaky, #59 Gary Zielinski, #55 Bill Kennedy
Attendance: 19812

NEW YORK -- The Washington Wizards started the season by winning just seven of their first 20 games, but a long home winning streak and the play of guard John Wall has turned things around.

Wall scored 29 points and recorded 13 assists for his 25th double-double of the season, leading the Wizards to a 113-110 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

Wall's two free throws with 32 seconds left gave Washington (23-19) a 111-110 lead after Derrick Rose had given the Knicks a 110-109 edge with 48 seconds left.

The Knicks have lost nine of their last 12 games.

Washington has won 13 straight home games, but is just 5-13 on the road where they will play four of their next five games.

"It's good to get a road win," said Wizards coach Scott Brooks. "We've had so many last second shots on the road that didn't go our way, so it's nice to close out tonight with the win.

"When our offense was a little stagnant at the end, John (Wall) made a couple of big plays. He probably took one or two tough shots, but he makes a lot of winning basketball plays for us."

Wall stole the ball from Brandon Jennings with 2.8 seconds left, preventing the Knicks from attempting a 3-pointer that could have tied the game.

Knicks guard Courtney Lee had a look in front of the Washington bench with 6.3 seconds left that could have tied the game at 113, but says he heard Wizards assistant coach Sidney Lowe, who he thought was a player, yelling something at him just a few feet away. Distracted, Lee passed up the shot that led to the Jennings turnover.

"I'm thinking it's a player," Lee said. "He (Lowe) was on the court behind me, yelling, 'I'm right here, I'm right here. I got your help. I should have taken the shot anyway."

Carmelo Anthony missed a jumper with 18 seconds to go that would have tied the score. Anthony poured in 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Knicks (19-25). Kristaps Porzingis scored 15 points in his first game back from an Achilles injury.

Otto Porter Jr. tossed in 23 points and Marcin Gortat scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his 24th double-double of the season for the Wizards. Porter registered six 3-pointers for the second straight game.

Washington scored only 13 points in the fourth quarter, seven from Wall, after torching the Knicks for 38 in the first and 34 in the third.

"I thought today was a little different for us," said Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek. "Usually late in the games we're getting some scores, but we're not stopping them. Tonight we gave ourselves a chance to get back in the game."

Anthony's 3-pointer cut the Washington lead to 106-102 with 4:36 to go.

Two free throws from Porter pushed the Wizards lead to 106-97 with six minutes to play.

Porter scored 15 points in the third quarter when the Wizards staged their biggest lead, 100-84. Anthony recorded just one point in the frame, going 0 for 4 from the floor with a turnover.

Anthony set a Knicks record for points in a quarter, when he poured in 25 of the Knicks' 40 second quarter points, including a jumper with 27 seconds left in the second quarter that gave New York a 67-66 edge. He was 10 of 12 from the floor, mostly on mid- to long-range jumpers.

A breakaway dunk from Knicks guard Justin Holiday tied the game at 59 with 2:42 left in the second quarter.

Wall contributed 11 points and seven assists to help Washington to a 38-25 first-quarter lead. It was the second time this season the Knicks allowed that many points in the opening period.

NOTES: Washington has won six straight at Madison Square Garden. ... The Wizards made 15 3-pointers the first time they played the Knicks this season. They hit for 13 on Thursday. ... New York is 1-9 in the second game of a back-to-back series. ... The Knicks were without C Joakim Noah (sore left ankle) and F Lance Thomas (fractured left orbital bone). ... Washington has won 13 consecutive home games, the longest active streak in the NBA and the franchise's longest since the then Bullets won 15 straight in 1989. ... Washington G John Wall recorded a steal in the first quarter for his 30th straight game with at least a steal -- the longest active streak in the league.
Top Game Performances
 
Washington   New York
John Wall 29 Scoring Carmelo Anthony 34
John Wall 13 Assists Brandon Jennings 5
Marcin Gortat 13 Rebounds Carmelo Anthony 10
John Wall 6 Free Throws Made Derrick Rose 6
John Wall 3 Steals Ron Baker 2
Markieff Morris 2 Blocks Kyle O'Quinn 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Washington 113 50.0 13-32 12-14 29 40 5 7 15
New York 110 46.7 7-24 19-22 20 41 4 7 11
Upcoming Games
  • New York will play their next game at home against Phoenix. The Knicks have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .458 after a loss.
  • Washington will play their next game on the road against Detroit. The Wizards have a W/L % of .478 after a win and .632 after a loss.