Wizards at Knicks
The New York Knicks have already been eliminated from the postseason race in the Eastern Conference and are limiting the minutes of some of the better players on the roster, but that doesn't mean they've given up on the season. The Knicks will try to shake things up by beating a second straight postseason contender when they host the Washington Wizards on Thursday.
New York did not have Kristaps Porzingis (back) or Derrick Rose (knee) in the lineup on Tuesday but still managed to knock off a Chicago Bulls' squad fighting for a playoff berth with a 100-91 victory - the second in the last three games against teams fighting at the bottom of the East bracket. The Knicks will play their next three games against teams that have already clinched playoff spots - Washington, Memphis and Toronto - before finishing out the season against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Wizards snapped out of a three-game funk with a 118-111 home win over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday and battling with the Raptors for third place in the East, though Toronto holds the tiebreaker. Washington does not play a team above it in the standings the rest of the way but will twice face the Miami Heat, who are battling for the No. 8 spot, over the final four regular-season contests.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (47-31): Washington allowed 60 or more points in the first half for the third time in the last four games on Tuesday and knows it needs to correct the habit of starting poorly. "We have (four) games to correct it," power forward Jason Smith told the Washington Post. "We’ve had slow starts the past couple of games coming out of the All-Star break. We have an opportunity to go deep into the playoffs, but not the way that we’re playing first halves. We don’t want to be walking into the playoffs. We don't want to be limping into the playoffs. We want to hit the road running." Smith did not even get off the bench in a 139-115 loss at Golden State on Sunday but logged 24 minutes on Tuesday and buried five 3-pointers en route to 17 points.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (30-48): All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony sat out the previous two games with a back issue and expected to have his minutes cut the rest of the way as the team took a longer look at some younger players, but he was back in the lineup and logged 37 minutes and 25 shot attempts in Tuesday's win. Anthony led the way with 23 points but New York coach Jeff Hornacek did manage to find time for the younger players and got a strong effort from rookie small forward Maurice Ndour, who recorded season highs of 13 points and 12 rebounds for his first career double-double. Ndour started in place of Porzingis and logged a season-high 33 minutes.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Knicks rookie SF Mindaugas Kuzminskas is 9-of-14 from the floor in the last two games.
2. Wizards SF Kelly Oubre Jr. went 3-of-5 from 3-point range on Tuesday after going 0-of-9 in the previous three contests.
3. Washington took the last five in the series, including a 113-110 win at New York on Jan. 19.