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October 9, 2026 at 5:34 AM UTC

Postgame Report

Wizards Open Preseason With a 111-109 Win Over the Champion Knicks

Washington took its first test of the preseason at Madison Square Garden, beating the defending champions by two points.

Knicks game report image
Knicks game report image

The Wizards began their preseason at Madison Square Garden against the defending champion Knicks, and they left with a 111-109 win. It is a hard first assignment for a team trying to change its reputation, and Washington handled it. The banner talk belonged to New York, but the final margin was Washington's.

The score matters less in October than the work behind it. Both rosters have new faces, and for a good share of the Wizards it was the first time on the floor together in a game that someone was keeping score of. Rust and rough edges come with that, and a two-point finish in the Garden suggests the Wizards were sorted enough to stay in it.

The larger questions are the ones the Wizards carried in, and one night will not settle them. How Trae Young shares the ball, and how Anthony Davis fits beside him, will be tested for months. That goes for a team trying to move from rebuilding to competing in the East, with young prospects and win-now veterans on the same roster. Few outside the building expect a quick return to 50 wins. Rookie AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick, is at the start of a learning curve that will run well past one exhibition.

New York's side comes with a caveat. The Knicks' starting five is unchanged, and the expectation was another night of light work, with none of the opening group going much past 20 minutes. That is standard preseason practice for a champion, and it limits what Washington can take from the result. Both teams will have more to sort out when the games count.

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