The Washington Wizards were absolutely blown out on Friday night, losing by nearly 40 points to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks are playing improved ball as they make a push for the playoffs, looking to shore up a spot at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. And they gave the Wizards little hope on Friday, smothering Washington on defense from the jump, and taking a 26-13 lead after the first quarter. They would not look back from there, extending the lead in each subsequent quarter for a 103-65 win.
But it wasn't all New York defense, as the Wizards were quite inept with little help from he opponent. Washington shot a woeful 28 percent from the floor while also committing 21 turnovers. They had only three players in double figures, led by Jordan Crawford with 17 points. But, partaking in the theme of the night, Crawford was still just 6 of 20 from the floor. John Wall scored only eight points and turned it over nearly as many times, with 7 giveaways. New York, meanwhile, drilled nearly 50 percent of their threes to blow Randy Wittman's club off the floor.
Licking their wounds, the Wizards have little time to recover but they will face a Cleveland team on Saturday night that's struggling mightily down the stretch and playing without several key players.
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