They were warned by their coach, who could have simply popped in the ugly footage of their performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder last week to get his point across easily.
Here the Knicks were, coming off a big win two nights earlier in New Orleans and now home to face the team with the worst record in the Eastern Conference, one that was without four of its key players and has an interim coach. So Mike D'Antoni had a little chat with his team, a reminder of sorts what happened the last time the Knicks took the court on the heels of one of their best victories of the season.
Yet, the Knicks found themselves in a serious tussle with the Wizards last night. With just under 10 minutes left in the fourth, they were tied with the Atlantic Division cellar-dwellers, creating a sense of uneasiness among the Garden crowd.
But the Knicks finally seized control with about three minutes left and wound up taking a 128-122 decision, giving them consecutive wins for the first time in nearly a month.
These games, you've just got to find a way to win, especially at home and especially with the way they played,
Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said. I thought they played great.
The Knicks shot 53.8 percent from the floor, the first time they've finished a game north of the 45-percent mark since Dec. 16 in Los Angeles against the Lakers. They took a 102-99 lead with 7:45 to go on David Lee's reverse two-handed dunk. Lee scored five straight points during a stretch of 1:17, the capper a putback with exactly three minutes left for a five-point bulge.
Quentin Richardson followed up Lee's big bucket by burying a three-pointer from the left side with 2:24 remaining for a 119-111 lead, giving the Knicks some breathing room. Nick Young's basket with 1:14 to play shaved the Knicks' cushion to six, but Wilson Chandler connected on a three with 52.2 seconds left to put a wrap on the Knicks' win.
Lee was one of five Knicks in double figures. He led the Knicks with 30 points and 10 rebounds. Al Harrington added 27 points, Richardson had 26 points and was 6 of 7 from three-point range, and Chris Duhon had 17 points and nine assists.
Nate Robinson's shooting struggles continued, though. He was 1 for 4 with four points in 18:33, but the Knicks had more than enough to overcome that thanks in part to their 19 offensive rebounds -- two more than the Wizards' defensive rebound total. They also stockpiled 27 assists on their 43 field goals.
That's something we've done well for two games now,
Lee said. If we can continue to do that, we are always going to have a chance to win. The ball was moving, guys were getting assists, guys were cutting and we were sharing.
Young turned out to be a defensive mismatch for the Knicks. Showing off a sweet jumper all night, he paced the Wizards with a career-high 33 points despite not seeing any court action in the first quarter. He was 13 of 17 from the floor. Caron Butler added 25 points and Amityville product Mike James had 20.
Washington started off hot, nailing mostly jumpers to build an early seven-point advantage about midway through the first quarter, quickly evoking thoughts that the Knicks might have another letdown. But the Knicks settled in and rode a 14-0 run sparked by some hot shooting from Harrington and Richardson.
However, lackadaisical efforts on defense let the Wizards right back in it. Washington, which canned 61 percent of its first-half shots and hit 6 of 7 from downtown, outscored the Knicks 18-11 over the final 3:48 of the second quarter to square things at 67 heading into the break.
