Knicks vie to bounce back in visit to Minnesota

The New York Knicks' five-game winning streak came to a crashing halt Wednesday in Washington of all places, but they'll try to start another one Friday night when they visit the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Knicks got outscored, 18-9, by the Wizards in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter and Washington put up 36 in the final frame to earn the 106-96 victory.

"We were just there thinking we were going to show up and come out of here with a win, and it just didn't happen," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "It was awful across the boards, starting at the top with me. We've got to be better."

Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points and Amare Stoudemire added 19 on 6-for-11 shooting off the bench. Raymond Felton and J.R. Smith both scored in double digits.

The Knicks were awful in allowing the Wiz to shoot 53.2 percent from the field and 55 percent from beyond the arc.

Tyson Chandler's streak of three straight games with 20 straight rebounds ended on Wednesday. He pulled down a respectable 13, but scored under 10 points for the third time in his last four games.

The Knicks will wrap up their short road trip on Friday, then head home for not just two home games, but an expected blizzard that's supposed to hammer the northeast.

The Timberwolves have been ugly lately, losing eight of their last nine and two in a row. They put up a good fight on Wednesday night, but fell at home to the San Antonio Spurs, 104-94.

Friday will be the sixth and final game of a homestand where the Wolves are 1-4 thus far with their only win coming Saturday over the New Orleans Hornets.

Against a Spurs team without Tim Duncan or Manu Ginobili, and beginning their long rodeo road trip, the Wolves couldn't stop Danny Green. The North Carolina product went 8-for-12 from long range en route to a career-high 28 points. All-Star Tony Parker had a game-high 31.

"I thought we really played pretty well for the most part," Wolves coach Rick Adelman said. "We just made too many mental mistakes, especially defensively at crucial times in the fourth quarter."

Nikola Pekovic led the way for the short-handed Timberwolves with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Derrick Williams and J.J. Barea netted 15 apiece and Williams grabbed 12 boards.

The Knicks have won three in a row over the Timberwolves, including a 94-91 victory on Dec. 23 at Madison Square Garden. New York is 4-11 in its last 15 in Minny.