Times have changed for Derek Fisher and his New York Knicks. After taking part in a blockbuster trade earlier this week, the Knickerbocker squad that took the floor Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards were effectively the new-look Knicks, as Fish put several young and new players in positions to get valuable NBA minutes against a playoff contender.
The Knicks fell behind by as many as 20 points. Rather than lying down against a veteran Wizards squad, the young New York team battled back late in the game and managed to bring the score within ten by the final buzzer, ending the game at 101-91.
With Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire both inactive nursing knee injuries and Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith transferred to the Cleveland Cavaliers, D-Fish did not waver from his positive outlook before the game, and saw it as a chance to build toward the future.
“(It’s) like you approach every game, or every time you step on the floor for practice, shoot around or whatever, is to get better and try to be at your best,” Derek said. “We’ll have nine (to) 10 guys that will still come out here with the mindset to win, and that’s what this business is about.”
HELLO, MY NAME IS…
Tim Hardaway Jr., Quincy Acy and Cole Aldrich are all young players who have played their way into the starting lineup after filling in for key veterans who have gone down to injury.
While the trio of young starters combined for 22 points and 19 rebounds, the Knicks also got a boost from two rookies who are making their NBA debuts this season.
Travis Wear came off the bench and gave the Knicks 18 minutes of solid basketball, which led to a career-high 11 points on the night.
In addition to Wear, D-League call-up Langston Galloway played in the first regular season game of his career, and put up 7 points and 3 assists.
“I was definitely nervous, but at the same time excited, and I was ready to play,” the Summer League standout said. “There was a little bit more intensity. Teams play a little bit harder now. In the preseason, people were just trying to get in the flow of things, this game was a little bit up to speed.”
Galloway has impressed Derek up to this point, and said Galloway could play a bigger role for the team later down the road.
“I think Langston’s maturity for a young player, after having gone to school for four years and not being afraid of the moment as a young guy, is what was really impressive over the summer,” he said of Galloway. “He’s done some things in Westchester so far that tell us he has the makeup of a guy who could develop into a good pro player.”
WIZ EDGE OUT WIN 
Derek rolled out yet another new rotation, and the new-look group had some trouble coming together early in the nation’s capital.
The Knicks coughed up six turnovers in the first quarter, resulting in nine easy points for the Wizards, who shot 54.5 percent from the floor to take a 30-21 lead after one.
As the game wore on, Fish’s squad picked it up on both ends, starting defensively in the second. The Knicks held the Wiz to 23 points and trailed by just 12 at the break.
Jose Calderon came out firing after the break, immediately knocking down a pair of threes. However, the Wizards had their answer in the form of a 17-5 run. Bradley Beal capped that spurt with back-to-back treys that stretched the lead to 20 with 6:13 remaining in the third.
However, despite Beal’s triples, the Knicks kept battling. With the final seconds of the third quarter ticking down, Jose Calderon took an improbable fade away jump shot at the buzzer to officially lop their insurmountable deficit in half, capping a 10-2 run to close the frame with the score 77-67.
“I think we kept fighting until the end,” Calderon said after his 17-point, three-assist outing. “It’s all about competing. We are going to be out there for 48 minutes and compete against every team. It doesn’t matter if we’re down or up, or who we play against, I think everybody on the court did something great for us.”
That mindset continued in the fourth. Down 83-76 halfway through the fourth, Shane Larkin received a quick bounce pass from big man Jason Smith, and took it upon himself to squeeze under the hoop for a reverse layup, shortening their deficit to just five.
Unfortunately for New York, that was as close as they came for the rest of the night, and the Wizards sealed off the game with solid play from Marcin Gortat and John wall to cap off their victory.
Although their streak has officially extended to 13-straight losses, Derek said his team is focused on improving game-by-game, not on any streaks, good or bad.
“We can’t get caught up in the history and record and number of games,” first-year coach Derek Fisher said, “And so we’re coming out and trying to win one game, and we’re supposed to celebrate because we broke a streak? No. That’s not who we’re going to be.”
NEXT UP
The Knicks (5-33) will have a quick turnaround as they head home to host the Houston Rockets (24-11) Thursday night.
The Rockets have been one of the top teams in the competitive Western Conference this season, though they have fallen in a rut of late, going just 5-6 in their last 11 games.
Houston will also be on night two of a back-to-back after topping the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-93 on the road Wednesday.
Tipoff starts at 8 p.m. EST. The game will be nationally broadcast on TNT.