Washington (0-6) and its struggling offense may provide the perfect opponent for New York to get back on track. The Wizards are off to their worst start in franchise history and averaging 85.2 points for the NBA's second-worst mark.
The club's 34.5 percent shooting in the first quarter is also better than only New Jersey. The Wizards fell behind 31-14 after one quarter as they missed their first 12 shots in Wednesday's 103-85 loss at Orlando.
The Knicks swept three meetings with the Wizards last season, with Amare Stoudemire averaging 28.0 points on 55.2 percent shooting and 7.7 rebounds.Stoudemire returned Wednesday after missing two games with a sprained left ankle and had season highs of 25 points and 12 boards.
The Knicks trailed by 17 points at halftime of Monday's 90-85 loss to Toronto and were behind by double digits through most of the fourth quarter Wednesday. Carmelo Anthony had 32 points against the Raptors.
Washington, meanwhile, barely has a scorer in the top 50, with Nick Young averaging a team-high 14.2 points. No Wizards starter besides center JaVale McGee is shooting better than 37.5 percent.
The Wizards average 14.8 assists for the Eastern Conference's worst mark.
Andray Blatche has been among numerous Wizards enduring disappointing starts, and said he was one of the players who was called out in a players-only meeting called Thursday by veteran Maurice Evans. Blatche said his teammates got on him for wanting the ball in the post and then taking "lazy jump shots" instead.
This contest pits teams that are among the NBA's worst at defending on 3-pointers, with Washington allowing opponents to shoot 38.3 percent and New York 42.5.
That was a factor in the 2010-11 season series in favor of the Knicks, who shot 38.2 percent on 3s - making 29 of them - and limited the Wizards, who made 14 of theirs, to 29.8.
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