Hart's triple-double, Towns' 32 points lead Knicks to 8th straight win, 126-106 over Wizards

Josh Hart had 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for his third triple-double of the season, Karl-Anthony Towns had 32 points and 13 rebounds, and the New York Knicks beat the Washington Wizards 126-106 on Monday night for their eighth straight victory.

By RICH DUBROFF

The Associated Press
December 31, 2024 at 2:36AM

WASHINGTON — Josh Hart had 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for his third triple-double of the season, Karl-Anthony Towns had 32 points and 13 rebounds, and the New York Knicks beat the Washington Wizards 126-106 on Monday night for their eighth straight victory.

It was the second game in three nights between the teams. On Saturday night, the Knicks (23-10) outlasted the Wizards 136-132 in overtime behind 55 points from Jalen Brunson.

Jonas Valanciunas equaled his season high with 22 points for Washington (5-25). Alex Sarr and Malcolm Brogdon each had 18.

There was a scary moment with 3:07 to play in the third quarter when Washington rookie guard Bub Carrington fell backward while guarding a player and hit a Knicks player's knee and then the back of his head on the court.

Carrington left in a wheelchair, covering his face and did not return with a post-traumatic headache.

The Wizards played their second straight game without leading scorer Jordan Poole, who's out with a bruised left hip. Kyle Kuzma returned after missing 12 games with a strained left rib.

Takeaways

Knicks: The balanced Knicks were too good for the youthful Wizards even though Brunson had only 18 points, leaving the scoring load to his teammates.

Wizards: Playing back-to-back games against one of the NBA's best teams was too much for the overmatched Wizards. They held the lead for much of the game before losing in overtime on Saturday.

Key moment

New York's OG Anunoby hit two 3-pointers to break a 63-all tie with 9 minutes to play in the third quarter, and the Knicks never trailed after that.

Key stat

The Knicks outrebounded the Wizards 54-46, with Hart and Towns combining for 28.

Up next

The Knicks host Utah on Wednesday while the Wizards host Chicago on Wednesday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

about the writer

about the writer

RICH DUBROFF

The Associated Press

More from Sports

Riley Leonard passed for a touchdown, Jayden Harrison returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score, and Notre Dame's defense made it hold up in a 23-10 victory over No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday that sends the third-ranked Fighting Irish into the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.