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Wizards-Knicks Preview

Apr 12, 2010 - 2:19 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Washington (25-55) at New York (28-51), 7:30 p.m. EDT

New York fans haven't had much to cheer about lately with the Knicks wrapping up a sixth straight season without a playoff berth.

At least they've still been able to beat the lowly Washington Wizards on their home court.

In their final contest of the season at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks look to win a fifth straight home game over the Wizards on Monday night.

New York (28-52) hasn't had a winning record since going 48-34 in 2001, and these last couple of seasons have been especially brutal. The Knicks have lost at least 49 games each season since their last playoff appearance in 2004.

New York is hoping to get things turned around next season by signing one of the top free agents over the summer, but it still has two more games to go before turning its full attention to that task.

The Knicks, who wrap up the regular season Wednesday at Toronto, are coming off Sunday's 111-98 loss at Miami, their seventh defeat in nine games.

David Lee scored 26 points and Danilo Gallinari had 19 for the Knicks, who dropped all three meetings to the Heat this season.

New York has fared better against the Wizards, going 2-1 against them and winning all four meetings at MSG since the start of the 2007-08 season. The Knicks are averaging 115.5 points during this home winning streak with Lee averaging 24.7 points and 10.7 rebounds in the last three.

While New York is winding down another forgettable season, things have been even worse for the Wizards.

Washington (25-55) lost a franchise-worst 16 straight games March 3-30, and has played much of the season in the shadow of Gilbert Arenas' suspension for bringing guns to the team's locker room at the Verizon Center back in December.

The Wizards were showing signs of turning things around, though, winning four of six before losing to Atlanta 105-95 on Saturday.

The score was tied at 78 after three quarters, but Washington couldn't find its shot over the final 12 minutes, making six of 19 from the field (31.6 percent) after shooting 56.7 percent through the first three periods.

"Teams that make the playoffs have guys that make plays in the fourth quarters," Wizards coach Flip Saunders said. "Teams that aren't playoff-type teams have guys that are inconsistent in making those plays. That's the difference between being good and not-so good."

Andray Blatche finished with 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists after scoring 31 in Friday's 106-96 win at Boston. He had 26 points and a career-best 18 boards in a 118-116 overtime loss to the Knicks on Feb. 26, the last meeting between these teams.