WASHINGTON _ The Knicks learned a lesson the hard way Sunday, facing a team in free fall and finding that they are still a long way from taking advantage.
The Wizards, with rumors of trades and a coaching change sifting through the NBA just weeks into the season, righted themselves at the Knicks expense with a 108-95 victory at Capital One Arena.
The Wizards, with much of the same team that reached the postseason in three of the last four seasons, entered the game with a 1-7 record, a start that has confounded the team and even the competition.
"We can say a lot of things and analyze a lot of things," Wizards coach Scott Brooks said before the game. "But one thing I subscribe and I believe in is staying together when you're in tough times. It's tough right now. We're not happy with being 1-7. But when you start, you're going to look at everybody else and not yourself and we're not going to do it collectively as a team it's going to get worse."
Knicks coach David Fizdale didn't expect to see a 1-7 team though.
"They got some pros over there. They got All-Stars over there," Fizdale said. "They got a proven coach. Everybody goes through crap. That's this league man. But you can never walk into a building thinking _ especially us _ walk into a building thinking we got something figured out. A lot of the stuff when I talk to our guys, it's not even about the other team right now. ... Nothing shocks me anymore, to be honest.
"You just don't know what's going on in another person's building. (Miami assistant) Ron Rothstein used to always say that. Even when you think you're the most screwed up team in the world, never underestimate how screwed up somebody else is. But that's just this league. It goes in ups and downs and waves. And it's the teams that can really stand the test ... that end up having success for years."
The Knicks had their own troubles, struggling to mount any sort of sustainable offensive attack Sunday with Tim Hardaway Jr. nursing a back injury for much of the night and shooting just 2-for-10 and finishing with seven points in 24 minutes. Enes Kanter had 18 points and 12 rebounds off the bench for the Knicks.
With 5:03 remaining in the first quarter Hardaway drove to the basket, but his layup was blocked by Bradley Beal and then John Wall, soaring in from behind, appeared to knee him in the back. Hardaway slowly went to the floor and was down for a long time before finally being helped to the bench. He was taken briefly to the locker room and then after stretching, returned to the game in the second quarter. Hardaway was 0-for-4 after returning to action and 2-for-10 in the game.
Hardaway started the second half, but once he left midway through the quarter he was taking turns riding the exercise bike and applying ice to his back. He shed the wrap to come into the game in the fourth quarter, but was moving gingerly.
With the offense lacking production from Hardaway, who has been the team's leading scorer this season, the offense dragged for much of the night and the Knicks trailed by as many as 13. But they rallied to tie the score at 82 on a Trey Burke layup to start the fourth quarter and with Burke and Allonzo Trier on the floor they kept pace with the Wizards backcourt of Wall and Bradley Beal.
But Washington pulled away down the stretch as the Knicks fell apart. Trier was called for a technical in the third quarter while jawing with Wall and then Mitchell Robinson was assessed a technical late in the game. He had a shot blocked at the rim from behind by Beal and on the other end when he fouled Jeff Green driving to the basket he argued the call and got a technical. The Knicks trailed just 94-88 when Robinson was called for the technical and the Wizards scored eight straight points to put it out of reach.
