Wizards defeat Knicks 98-89

The New York Knicks continued their struggles tonight against the Washington Wizards. The first half was very solid for the Knicks as they played a very fluid game. They ball moved which led to open guys. That was a very nice thing to see from them, but in the second half that changed. When things started going against them they started a lot of one on one. That led to poor offense and resulted in another second half deficit. The Wizards were the opposite as they moved the ball in the second half. They really did that effectively causing the Knicks to leave guys open. With that said the Wizards would send the Knicks to their fifth straight loss with a 98-89 win over the Knicks.

John Wall was on top of his game as he amassed 31 points and seven assists. Wall really played under control and rarely forced the action. The Wizards have a true player in Wall. He continues to improve and tonight really showed a great jump shot. That has been his struggle in his career, but now he seems to have a more consistent shot. If he can become a strong jump shooter, he really can be a top point guard in the NBA.

Martell Webster really capitalized on open opportunities as he scored with ease from the outside. Webster found open opportunities thanks to poor Knicks defense and also John Wall’s penetration. Webster has become a very consistent shooter and tonight prove an excellent contributor with his 19 points.

For the Knicks, Carmelo Anthony continued to play well. Anthony played hard at times, but also made some careless defense at times. Anthony did score 23 points, but with little help in the second half, the Knicks were done. Anthony rebounded the ball well as he grabbed 12 rebounds.

The Knicks look real bad in terms of a team. They continue to finger point rather than address the issue. When Mike Woodson took over he preached “accountability”, where did that message go? This team has developed poor habits defensively. Why hasn’t any of the problems been addressed? I don’t know. Tonight the Knicks showed that they could move the ball, but they continue to go back into their stagnant offensive play. JR Smith was the leader in that area as he made some mind numbing mistakes. Smith really played bad tonight. He missed crucial free throws and had three bad turnovers late in the game. Overall Smith has struggled this season and somehow continues to play thirty minutes each game. He needs to sit and earn his way back on this team.

Andrea Bargnani and Amare Stoudemire played very strong in the first half. Both were huge in the Knicks early lead. Stoudemire really played well tonight as he scored 12 points. He made nice post moves and also made a nice jumper. His minutes have been increased to twenty minutes a game and that should give Stoudemire more opportunities to help the team.

The Knicks will continue this very tough road trip and things can possibly get worse. But the Knicks do have the ability to show up to big games, so that is a positive. The Knicks will face the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. While the Wizards will face the Lakers on Tuesday night.

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