New York @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 14, 2018 ) Washington 118, New York 113

The Washington Wizards have stumbled in their pursuit of home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, but they have a golden opportunity to pick up a much-needed win when the struggling New York Knicks pay a visit Sunday. The Wizards dropped two straight and are 4-7 in their last 11 games after falling 108-100 to Denver on Friday to begin a two-game homestand.

The slump has Washington in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, 1 1/2 games behind fourth-place Philadelphia and 1 1/2 ahead of Miami in seventh. "We have to play with more urgency," Wizards coach Scott Brooks told reporters after the loss. "We can't just go out there like it's just another game. ... These are moments where we need to take advantage because it's playoff implications on every game." The Knicks lost 108-104 to Minnesota at home their last time out and enter a three-game road trip with an 8-29 road record. Washington won each of the last eight meetings between the teams, including a 121-103 rout in the one encounter at home on Jan. 3.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, NBATV, MSG (New York), NBCS Washington

ABOUT THE KNICKS (26-47): Tim Hardaway's roller-coaster of a season was on the upswing in the loss to Minnesota, as he rebounded from a 12-point showing at Miami on Wednesday to score a career-high 39 on Friday. "Just trying to do anything I can to put my team on my back and just carry the young guys out there on the floor," Hardaway told the media. "I think we did a great job of getting stops defensively and using that to our advantage and pushing the pace." The 26-year-old, who scored 37 points in a home loss to Washington last month, went 14-of-25 from the floor against the Timberwolves and is averaging 21.5 points while shooting 46 percent in March after posting 14.9 points and a 37.3 percent mark in February.

ABOUT THE WIZARDS (40-32): Washington initially got hot after losing All-Star point guard John Wall to a knee injury but it has cooled off and hopes to welcome him back to practice on Saturday, according to Brooks. Tomas Satoransky filled in nicely for Wall in the starting lineup before hitting a bit of a wall and shooting 3-for-14 while producing a total of seven points in 58 minutes over the last two games. Bradley Beal continues to shoulder the load and had 24 points while making 6-of-9 3-pointers against Denver.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Beal averaged 31.5 points on 69.4 percent shooting in the first two meetings with the Knicks.

2. New York C Enes Kanter has seven double-doubles in 10 games in March despite averaging just 24.1 minutes.

3. Wizards C Marcin Gortat is 12-for-15 from the floor over a three-game span.

PREDICTION: Wizards 111, Knicks 101