Knicks lose to up-and-coming Wizards, 111-109, fall to 0-2 in preseason

Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News on Oct 8, 2026

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NEW YORK — From 2021 through last season, the Knicks boasted an 18-2 record against their Eastern Conference counterpart Washington Wizards.

Thursday’s preseason meeting at Madison Square Garden painted a far different picture: The Wizards are no longer the laughingstock dwelling at the bottom of the NBA standings.

And games against them will no longer be a cakewalk. The Knicks found out firsthand on Thursday in a 111-109 loss at Madison Square Garden, a game in which the Knicks starting five of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart saw a modest five-minute increase in workload from the opener.

The Knicks are now 0-2 through their first two exhibition games with three more left on the schedule before the Oct. 20 regular-season opener: at MSG against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday before home and road games against the Toronto Raptors to close the preseason slate.

The Wizards have every bit of the capacity to reach their full potential after acquiring All-Stars Anthony Davis and Trae Young before selecting A.J. Dybantsa with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA draft. After combining to win just 60 games over the past three seasons, good health could see the team residing in the nation’s capital crack 40 wins for the first time since 2018.

Which means the Knicks have yet another team positioning itself as a roadblock on their journey to repeat as NBA champions — a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since the Wizards last cracked the 40-win mark.

The Philadelphia 76ers added LeBron James, Jaylen Brown and Anfernee Simons. Miami landed Giannis Antetokounmpo. Boston got Paul George and Mitchell Robinson, the Toronto Raptors brought Kawhi Leonard back.

And the Wizards, if healthy, could be in the mix for a top-six seed that much more interesting given the Indiana Pacers (Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles return), Cleveland Cavaliers (last year’s East runner-up) and Detroit Pistons (won 60 games last season) will all be gunning for the same playoff positioning.

Star stats

Brunson scored 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field in 20 first-half minutes before head coach Mike Brown pulled the plug on his first unit. Hart put up 13 points, six rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes, and Anunoby put up 10 points, five rebounds, a block and a steal in 19 minutes. Towns finished with eight points, seven rebounds and three assists but turned the ball over three times and shot 2 of 7 from the field.

Davis (16 points) and Young (15 points) combined for 31 points, each playing 17 minutes. Dybantsa scored 11 points in 23 minutes and came up with four steals.

Reserves

Reserves Andre Drummond, Landry Shamet and Jordan Clarkson made the most of their limited minutes against the Wizards on Thursday. Drummond posted eight points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals in 20 minutes. Shamet shot 3 of 4 from deep and scored 13 points in 16 minutes, and Clarkson scored seven points in nine minutes.