WASHINGTON — Jalen Brunson boosted the box score with a double nickel on Saturday, but it was Precious Achiuwa who was responsible for the most exciting and most praised play in the 136-132 overtime victory over the Wizards.
With about 10 minutes left in the second quarter, Achiuwa received a pass from Landry Shamet in transition and found Washington's Kishawn George with a soaring one-handed jam.
The Knicks bench cleared out and went into a frenzy of celebration around a straight-faced Achiuwa.
“They were going crazy,” Achiuwa said. “I don't know why they didn't get the skills from there. Everyone was on the court. It was a great moment.”
Achiuwa, who said he always tries to remain emotionless after dunking, scored just three points in 19 minutes.
But he provided moments of top-10 play.
“That gave us a lot of energy in the first half,” Josh Hart said. “He's a weird athlete. We need to see that a little bit more.”
The most animated of the celebrations was, surprisingly, OG Anunoby, who went after Achiuwa after the dunk.
“I actually didn't know,” Hart said. “I was having my own little reaction.”
If the Wizards are this bad, it's also bad for the Knicks.
After unearthing assets to acquire Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks still have a protected first-round pick through Saturday and Monday night's opponents, the 5-24 Wizards. It remains.
The pick was acquired as part of a complex 2022 trade to waive Kemba Walker's contract and free up space to sign Brunson, with a top-10 protection in 2025. be done.
This could very well already be telling us that Washington is in last place in the East.
If not conveyed in the next draft, that pick will be protected in the top eight in 2026. If not delivered by 2026, there will be two second-round picks.
The Wizards, tied to bad contracts with Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma, are no closer to contention or turning a corner.
But on Saturday, they fell short of Justin Champagnie's 31 points and gave the Knicks a scare.
