New York @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 12, 2020 ) Washington 114, New York 96

The Washington Wizards are talking less about making a run at the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference and more about developing young players as the season winds down, and losses in seven of the last 10 games is increasing the chatter. The Wizards will try to combine development and winning when they wrap up a three-game homestand by hosting the New York Knicks on Tuesday.

Washington made a run at a winning homestand and held an 83-75 lead over the Miami Heat on Sunday before going cold down the stretch and suffering a 100-89 loss without getting much out of rookie forward Rui Hachimura (scoreless on 0-of-8 shooting) or center Thomas Bryant (two points, six fouls in 16 minutes) - two of the young players expected to become core talents. "We've got 19 more games to go to see how much better we can get them," Wizards coach Scott Brooks told reporters, "and keep trying to find ways to improve our team." The Knicks just finished up a 3-2 homestand with a 96-84 triumph over Detroit on Sunday and are feeling good about the direction of the team. "We got some good quality wins and I feel like we can learn from the losses, as well, against some veteran, quality teams," forward Julius Randle told reporters of the homestand. "Now it's time to go on the road and try to get some more."

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: MSG, NBCS Washington, NBA TV Canada

ABOUT THE KNICKS (20-44): New York was run over by the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 126-103 setback on Friday but went through a tough defensive practice the next day and responded by holding the Pistons to 36.3 percent from the floor. "One thing we talked about is that any defensive team has to have a set of rules, and you play by those rules so you can play together," interim coach Mike Miller told reporters. "I thought we were pretty connected tonight. ... I was pleased with the effort, staying with the defensive side and trusting that and allowing the defense to help create the offense." A big presence on the defensive end came from second-year center Mitchell Robinson, who blocked three shots to go with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

ABOUT THE WIZARDS (23-40): While Washington waits for the young players to develop some consistency, star guard Bradley Beal continues to shoulder a heavy load. Beal had a string of 21 straight games scoring at least 25 points come to an end when he struggled to 23 points on 8-of-24 shooting, including 5-of-14 from 3-point range, on Sunday. "They took away all my drives, everything to the paint," Beal told reporters of the Heat. "They wanted to force me to shoot jumpers all night. They are a really good rebounding team, and that will play into their favor. Really, they just loaded up. They were switching pick and rolls with a double, late switch. They did a good job just keeping me off balance."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Wizards SF Davis Bertans is 29-of-58 from 3-point range in five games this month.

2. Knicks PG Elfrid Payton is averaging 18 points over the last three games after totaling seven points in the first two games of the homestand.

3. The visiting team took each of the first three meetings, with New York earning a 107-100 victory at Washington on Dec. 28.

PREDICTION: Wizards 121, Knicks 109