The Washington Wizards (34 - 35) defeated the New York Knicks (28 - 42) 99 - 89 on Saturday. The game between the two conference rivals turned in a pivotal third quarter that the Wizards won handily, 33 - 13. Washington was able to maximize the value of their starting five, with each member of the first unit managing double - digit scoring. The Wizards were particularly effective on defense after a first quarter in which the Knicks prevailed in, 29 - 20. They elicited 17 turnovers from the visitors, while only committing eight themselves. They also drastically outperformed New York in the paint, 48 - 24. The Knicks were led by a pair of 20 - point efforts from Kristaps Porzingis and Carmelo Anthony. The former added seven rebounds, two assists and three blocks, while the latter hauled in seven boards, dished out five assists and recorded a steal. Jose Calderon was the only other starter that scored in double digits, tallying 10 points, two assists and a rebound. Arron Afflalo paced the bench with 10 points, three rebounds and an assist. New York remains in third place in the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division, and is eight games behind the eighth - seeded Detroit Pistons. They head home to take on the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. The Wizards' attack was led by John Wall, who posted a 24 - point, 10 - assist double - double which also consisted of two rebounds, a steal and a block. Markieff Morris followed with 17 points, four rebounds, an assist and three steals. Otto Porter and Marcin Gortat contributed a pair of 15 - point outings, with the former adding six rebounds and an assist, and the latter supplying 11 boards, two assists and a block. Bradley Beal rounded things out for the first team with 10 points, six assists, three rebounds and a steal. The Wizards are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference's Southeast Division, and 2 games behind the eighth - seeded Detroit Pistons. They head to Atlanta to take on the Hawks on Monday.
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