Knicks at Wizards
The New York Knicks battled through four overtimes in Atlanta on Sunday afternoon only to fall 142-139, losing for the 15th time in their last 20 games. The Knicks will try to bounce back and find the win column when the road trip continues at the Washington Wizards on Tuesday.
New York's players were upset about the disparity in foul calls during the loss to Atlanta, and four Knicks fouled out as the team was whistled for 39 personal fouls. "I’m proud of the guys the way they kept playing," New York coach Jeff Hornacek told reporters. "They played through a lot of things tonight. We just didn’t come away with the victory. But again, great effort." The Wizards are trending in the opposite direction with wins in four straight and 11 of 13 to keep the pressure on Atlanta atop the Southeast Division. Washington won its last 14 home games and is coming off a two-game road trip in which it crushed the Hawks and New Orleans Pelicans by a combined 39 points.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBATV, MSG (New York), CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
ABOUT THE KNICKS (21-28): New York star forward Carmelo Anthony is putting trade rumors behind him and scored 45 points in 46 minutes on Sunday before fouling out. "Just one of those zones," Anthony, who forced the first overtime with a jumper, told reporters. "Not trying to lose, trying to give ourselves the opportunity to stay in the game or even win the game, try to send it to another overtime if we can. The shots were falling at those moments for me." The 32-year-old went for 30 or more points in five of the last eight contests while being publicly shopped by team president Phil Jackson.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (27-20): All-Star point guard John Wall was slightly off with his shot on Sunday (8-of-19 from the floor, 0-of-3 from beyond the arc), so he focused on his abilities as a distributor and finished with 18 points and a season-high 19 assists in the 107-94 triumph over New Orleans. It marked the 27th double-double of the season for the former No. 1 overall pick and contributed to an 11-of-16 shooting effort from guard Bradley Beal, who finished with 27 points. Beal battled through a four-game shooting slump in which he went 18-of-59 from the floor but broke out by knocking down 29-of-47 over the last three contests.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Wizards PF Markieff Morris went 3-of-3 from beyond the arc on Sunday and is shooting 52.2 percent from 3-point range over the last six contests.
2. New York PG Derrick Rose (ankle) sat out Sunday's game and is day-to-day.
3. Washington took each of the first two meetings this season, including a 119-112 home triumph on Nov. 17.