The Knicks feasted on a bottom-dweller.
A big part of a successful regular season is winning the games you’re supposed to, and the Knicks handled their business Monday night, with precision and a 134-105 bludgeoning of the Wizards.
They led by as many as 34 points, and by double-digits for the final 39 minutes, with Jalen Brunson’s 26-point, 11-assist line highlighting the box score.
The win wrapped up arguably the Knicks’ easiest three-game stretch of the season with home wins over the Nets (twice) and Wizards.
And unlike the Brooklyn matchups, Monday was never in doubt.
A 37-12 run in the first quarter for the Knicks (8-6) took the fight out of the Wizards (2-11), who dropped their ninth straight and carried neither the skill nor desire to launch a comeback.
The only notable unrelaxed Knick was Tom Thibodeau, a coach who famously views any lead as combustible as an unpinned grenade.
Thibs watched the reserves allow a fourth-quarter advantage drop to the mid-20s before he reinserted three starters — Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby.
They carried it until Thibodeau felt comfortable again.
“I think guys are starting to get a good rhythm,” Thibodeau offered afterwards. “The chemistry is good.”
Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
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Hart, Anunoby and Bridges each had at least 14 points.
Cam Payne added 17 points off the bench while hitting 5 of 6 treys.
The ball movement was exquisite, with the Knicks picking up 37 assists compared to just eight turnovers.
“When you play like that [with a lot of movement], the ball breathes and there’s a good energy to it,” Thibodeau said. “I thought the unselfishness was terrific.”
Highlights were abundant for New York, but No. 1 easily belonged to Jericho Sims. With 6:09 left in the second quarter, Sims received a pocket pass from Jalen Brunson and lifted from the semicircle to throw down a jam on top of Washington’s Kyle Kuzma.
It was a move reminiscent of Blake Griffin’s heyday in that Sims, a Slam Dunk contestant in 2023, threw the ball into the net without touching the rim.
“I had a front row seat,” Towns said. “It was amazing.”
The Wizards, meanwhile, didn’t have any highlights and are expected to land in the draft lottery.
They have two gunners in Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma, plus a 19-year-old French rookie in Alex Sarr. None of them managed more than 11 points Monday in MSG.
Coached by former Knicks assistant Brian Keefe, the Wizards allowed the Knicks to shoot 56 percent — including 50 percent from beyond the arc on 40 attempts.
It’s still early, but Washington has the makings of the NBA’s worst team, which actually hurts the Knicks since they own the Wizards’ top-10 protected first-round pick in 2025.
If it’s not conveyed in 2025, the pick becomes top-8 protected in 2026. If it doesn’t convey in 2026, it becomes two second-round picks.
So the Knicks don’t want the Wizards to be too bad. And that’s a wish that probably won’t come true this season.
Now there’s nowhere for the Knicks schedule to go but to grow more difficult. They start a five-game road trip Wednesday at Phoenix, then Utah, then Denver, then Dallas and Charlotte.
“I think what gives us momentum is the way we’re playing,” Towns said. “We’re playing good basketball now.”
