HARDAWAY CLUNKER SINKS KNICKS
WASHINGTON — The Knicks didn’t score 100 points against the league’s worst defensive team and Tim Hardaway Jr., battling back soreness, didn’t reach double figures.
The Knicks were sloppy and couldn’t beat a reeling Wizards team with Hardaway hurting and off his game. Hardaway finished with seven points on 2-of-10 shooting and a late comeback fell apart midway through the fourth quarter in a 108-95 loss Sunday at Capital One Arena.
The Knicks were exactly what the desperate Wizards needed as the league’s youngest team committed 20 turnovers, shot 5-of-27 from 3-point land and lost the momentum they had gained with Friday’s victory in Dallas.
In addition, the Knicks, who fell to 3-7, may not have Hardaway, the team’s leading scorer (25 ppg), for Monday’s Garden match against the Bulls.
“That affects us big time,’’ coach David Fizdale said of Hardaway’s lost night. “We rely on Tim a lot. When we go through our scoring lulls or our youthful turnover moments or hold-the-ball moments, Tim is our bailout guy and we didn’t have that tonight.’’
The Wizards, who entered on a five-game losing streak, had allowed 123.9 points per game but looked extra pumped with their ball pressure in the wire-to-wire triumph.
Hardaway received no help
WIZARDS 108 KNICKS 95
from his backcourt mate, starting point guard Frank Ntilikina, who laid an egg in a six-point, four-turnover evening. He shot 0-for-4 from the 3-point line, making him 0-for-10 in the past three games.
A starting backcourt combining for 13 points is not going to cut it against the John WallBradley Beal tandem. Wall erupted for 26 points and Beal added 22.
Wall also did more damage by accidently kneeing Hardaway in the back in the second quarter as he looked to block him from behind.
“I’m not feeling OK now,’’ Hardaway said. “We’ll see how I feel on a flight and have treatment [Monday] morning. I was playing with some discomfort. I’m a competitor. I can play through pain and not let my teammates down.”
Demoted center Enes Kanter recorded 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but was yanked with 5:36 left for new rookie starting center Mitchell Robinson in what turned into a classic second-guess. The Knicks collapsed from there, after Kanter helped them tie the score twice in the fourth.
Robinson promptly was blocked from behind on a dunk attempt by Beal. A frustrated Robinson then picked up a foul inside, then a technical foul for arguing as the Knicks lost their way amid a 27-17 fourth quarter.
“I thought Enes at that time was starting to fatigue some,’’ Fizdale said. “I was concerned with stopping the 3-point shot. But they got what they wanted anyway. I didn’t want to take Enes out here but I thought he was fatiguing and I was going to bring him right back. But the time to bring him back they already went on their run.”
Robinson had played well before the Beal block, finishing with 10 points, six rebounds and one block on Dwight Howard.
Allonzo Trier shook loose for a fancy driving layup in the final seconds as the Knicks closed to 81-78 after three quarters.
Earlier in the third, Trier and Wall picked up double technicals jawing at each other. Soon after, Trier (nine points) sparked the Knicks with his harassing defense, forcing Wall to lose the ball out of bounds. Fizdale got animated on the sidelines, slapping Wall’s hand.
But ultimately the Knicks got slapped back to reality. They got off to an error-filled start — shooting 3-of-13 with four turnovers in the game’s opening eight minutes.
The Knicks blew an opportunity for their season’s first twogame winning streak.
“Very careless with the ball tonight and [the Wizards] deserve a lot of credit for that,’’ Fizdale said. “They definitely affected us.’’