It doesn’t take long for impatience to begin appearing within a city starved for an NBA championship.
But the New York Knicks finally offered a glimpse at their best-case scenario on Sunday night.
The Knicks will look to complete a perfect back-to-back set on Monday when they host the Washington Wizards in a battle of Eastern Conference rivals.
The Knicks opened a season-high seven-game homestand Sunday with a 128-116 victory over the Chicago Bulls. The Wizards suffered their fourth straight loss Saturday with a 125-94 defeat to the Orlando Magic.
The Knicks’ win provided a dual sense of relief for the team, which snapped a three-game losing streak while getting some immediate revenge against Chicago. The Bulls earned a 135-125 win over New York in Chicago on Friday.
The Knicks set season highs in points while shooting 47.6% (20 of 42) from 3-point range — their most made 3-pointers and best percentage from beyond the arc since March 10 of last season, when they went 22 of 40 (55%) in a 133-104 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Even after the successful shooting night, the Knicks still rank 28th in the NBA in field-goal percentage at 42.9%. New York shot 48.6% last season, the fifth-best mark in the league.
Thanks to a little better health, the Knicks also looked like the deeper team that ownership envisioned when Mike Brown was hired to replace Tom Thibodeau, who was fired after directing the club to the conference finals for the first time since 2000.
Six players scored in double figures on Sunday, including reserves Jordan Clarkson (15 points) and Josh Hart (14), each of whom set season highs in the victory. Hart, who started all 77 games in which he played last season, has been hobbled by a back injury and Sunday spoke to reporters about a nerve issue in his right (shooting) hand.
In addition, center Mitchell Robinson was scoreless in 13-plus minutes. It was the second appearance of the season for Robinson, who is continuing to recover from a pair of left ankle surgeries.
“Hopefully, we can string 48 minutes together, but it’s a process,” Brown said. “But our guys are getting better.”
Putting together a complete game has been a challenge for the Wizards, who won a total of just 33 games the previous two years and haven’t made the playoffs since the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season.
The Wizards have been outscored by an average of 20.3 points per game during their losing streak despite holding a halftime lead against the Charlotte Hornets on Oct. 26 and against the Philadelphia 76ers two nights later.
Washington led the Magic 35-32 at the end of the first quarter Saturday before being outscored 43-21 in the second period. Orlando shot 50.7% (35-of-69) over the final 36 minutes.
The task won’t get any easier anytime soon for the Wizards, who are slated to visit the Boston Celtics on Wednesday before returning home to host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.
“You’re going to have tough moments in a game and tough moments in the season,” Wizards head coach Brian Keefe said. “It’s how you respond here going forward.”
