In the long arc of a franchise's rebuilding, there are nights when the pieces begin to speak to one another — and Washington's preseason opener at Madison Square Garden was one of them. The Wizards edged the Knicks 111-109 not through the dominance of any single player, but through the collective weight of a roster assembled with intention. New arrivals Anthony Davis and Trae Young lit up the first half, while the bench carried the second, and a defense that had long been the team's wound showed early signs of healing. It is only October, and only a preseason game, but some beginnings carry me
Wizards Open Preseason with Road Win Over Knicks Behind Balanced Scoring
Six different Wizards reached double figures
Mark
So six players in double figures—is that the story, or is it just what happened?
Mimi
It's both. It tells you the Wizards have options. They're not leaning on one or two stars to carry them. That's a real change from what they've been.
Luke
But it's preseason. The Knicks weren't exactly locked in defensively. We should be careful about reading too much into the shooting percentages.
Mimi
Fair. But the rebounding advantage—that's structural. That's about the bodies they added. That's real.
Mark
What about Dybantsa? Four steals by halftime sounds like a lot.
Mimi
It does. He's a rookie, and he's already showing the two-way impact they drafted him for. But again, preseason.
Luke
Exactly. We don't know if he can sustain that against NBA starters who are actually trying. The second half lineup was basically a development squad.
Mark
So what should we actually take from this game?
Mimi
That the roster construction worked on paper, and on Thursday night it worked on the court too. Whether it works in November is the real test.
Luke
And we won't know that until we see them against teams that are playing to win, not just evaluate.
Mark
When's that happening?
Mimi
Opening night against Milwaukee.
Le Pouls
- Washington's new acquisitions arrived with urgency — Davis and Young combined for 31 first-half points, announcing themselves as a genuine foundation rather than a promise.
- The Knicks pushed back with balanced scoring from Brunson, Hart, and Shamet, keeping the margin razor-thin and the outcome uncertain deep into the second half.
- With Davis, Young, and Ayton sitting out the second half entirely, the bench faced its first real test — and Carrington, Champagnie, and a rookie Dybantsa answered with composure.
- Washington outrebounded New York by seven and held the Knicks to under 29 percent from three, translating offseason priorities into something measurable on the floor.
- The final score — 111-109 — was close enough to remind everyone that depth and defense are intentions until they are habits, and the regular season will demand far more.
In the long arc of a franchise's rebuilding, there are nights when the pieces begin to speak to one another — and Washington's preseason opener at Madison Square Garden was one of them. The Wizards edged the Knicks 111-109 not through the dominance of any single player, but through the collective weight of a roster assembled with intention. New arrivals Anthony Davis and Trae Young lit up the first half, while the bench carried the second, and a defense that had long been the team's wound showed early signs of healing. It is only October, and only a preseason game, but some beginnings carry meaning beyond the scoreboard.
The Washington Wizards opened their preseason with a 111-109 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, a result built less on star power than on the kind of collective effort that suggests a roster beginning to find itself.
Anthony Davis, playing his first game in a Wizards uniform, scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds before halftime. Trae Young added 15 points and four assists alongside him. Together they accounted for 31 of Washington's 57 first-half points, with Davis opening his account on a three-pointer and Young answering with a one-legged runner from deep. Washington shot nearly 50 percent from three and exactly 50 percent overall in those first 24 minutes.
With Davis, Young, and Deandre Ayton resting in the second half — a standard preseason precaution — the bench carried the load. Bub Carrington scored 11 points after the break, and Justin Champagnie added 10, both finishing in double figures. Rookie AJ Dybantsa, making his unofficial debut, recorded four steals by halftime and anchored a second-half lineup that held its ground against a Knicks team that never stopped competing. Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Landry Shamet each finished with 13 points for New York, but it was not enough.
What the night revealed most clearly was the physical transformation Washington has undergone. The Wizards outrebounded the Knicks by seven and held them to 42 percent shooting from the field and under 29 percent from three — numbers that reflect the defensive identity the franchise has been trying to build. Whether Thursday's performance is a signal or simply a preseason outlier is a question only time will answer, beginning Saturday night against the Detroit Pistons.
The Washington Wizards opened their preseason with a 111-109 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night, a win built on balanced scoring and the kind of defensive intensity the franchise has been chasing all offseason.
Six different Wizards reached double figures, a distribution that spoke to the depth the team had assembled. Anthony Davis, in his first game in a Washington uniform, poured in 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds by halftime alone. Trae Young added 15 points and four assists. From the bench, Bub Carrington and Justin Champagnie each cracked double digits, signaling that the reserves could carry weight when the starters rested.
The Knicks countered with balanced scoring of their own—Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Landry Shamet each finished with 13 points—but it was not enough to overcome Washington's first-half dominance. With Alex Sarr and Khris Middleton held out of the preseason opener, head coach Brian Keefe inserted Kyshawn George into the starting lineup and deployed Deandre Ayton in place of Sarr. The opening half belonged entirely to Washington's new acquisitions. Davis and Young combined for 31 of the Wizards' 57 first-half points. Davis announced himself with a three-pointer on his opening bucket; Young answered with a running, one-legged three of his own. Washington shot nearly 50 percent from three-point range and exactly 50 percent overall in the first half.
AJ Dybantsa, the rookie making his unofficial debut, recorded four steals by halftime and would later anchor a second-half lineup alongside Felix Okpara, George, Tre Johnson, and Bilal Coulibaly. Davis, Young, and Ayton all sat out the second half in street clothes, a precaution typical of preseason play. The bench stepped up without them. Carrington scored 11 points in the second half. Champagnie added 10 and tied Tre Mann for a team-best plus-19 rating over the final 24 minutes.
What emerged most clearly was the physical presence Washington had added to its roster. The Wizards outrebounded New York by seven, a tangible measure of the size improvements the front office had prioritized during the offseason. On the defensive end, they held the Knicks to 42.1 percent shooting from the field and just 28.9 percent from three—numbers that aligned with the team's stated goal of tightening its defense. Dybantsa's two-way impact as a rookie offered an early glimpse of what that commitment might yield.
Whether this opening performance translates through the remainder of the preseason and into the regular season remains the central question. The Wizards face the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET, their next chance to build on what Thursday demonstrated.
Citations marquantes
For a team that has prioritized improving defensively, Thursday marked a start for exactly that with Dybantsa's unofficial debut a chance to showcase his two-way impact as a rookie.— Game reporting
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