Wizards 101, Knicks 87
John Wall handed out a career-high 18 assists and Marcin Gortat had 19 points as host Washington used a fast start to get past New York.
Bradley Beal scored 18 points and Otto Porter Jr. tallied 10 of his 17 in the first quarter for the fifth-place Wizards, who pulled within two games of Toronto in the Eastern Conference. Drew Gooden chipped in nine points and 13 rebounds for Washington, which rested starters Paul Pierce and Nene.
Ricky Ledo had career highs with 21 points and nine rebounds while fellow reserve Quincy Acy added 14 points as the Knicks dropped their seventh straight meeting with the Wizards. Shane Larkin also had 14 points and Langston Galloway chipped in 12 for New York, which shot 36.9 percent from the field.
Galloway's first basket gave New York a 4-2 lead before the hosts embarked on a 28-4 outburst, getting 10 points from Porter and six apiece from Gortat and Gooden en route to a 30-10 lead after one. Ledo and Acy combined for 21 points off the bench in the second quarter as the Knicks crawled to within 54-46 at halftime.
Beal scored the first five points of the third to restore order and Wall had a basket and four assists in the final four minutes of the period for Washington, which led 83-67 entering the fourth. New York got as close as 10 points on a basket by Lou Amundson with 1:33 to go, but never seriously threatened.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Knicks SG Tim Hardaway Jr. missed all seven of his shots in 18 minutes in his return from a sprained right wrist, while SF Cleanthony Early left in the first half with an ankle injury. ... Wall was 3-of-13 from the floor and had six points. ... Washington had a 60-32 advantage in points in the paint.