WASHINGTON — The Knicks turned their attention to the Wizards pretty quickly after they roasted the 76ers. Almost immediately, said Donte DiVincenzo.
Saturday had the makings of a trap game in the second game of a back-to-back, so the locker room message in Philadelphia — just minutes after drubbing Joel Embiid’s team — carried warnings about not overlooking the opponent down I-95.
“You look at so many games where you beat the s–t out of a team and you go play a team where you’re expected to win, and then you come in and bulls–t,” DiVincenzo told The Post. “I think for us to be able to take that next step in the East, you have to be locked in. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing.”
The Knicks, as DiVincenzo predicted, didn’t succumb to the trap game at Capital One Arena.
They rarely play down to their opponent under Tom Thibodeau, who famously prepares for every game like the lives of family members are at stake.
Instead, they destroyed the lowly Wizards, 121-105.
They pounced on the overmatched opponent from the opening tip, taking an eight-point lead within just two minutes and building it to 20 at halftime.
The highlight was a putback jam from Miles McBride over multiple Wizards defenders to end the first quarter.
Washington (6-29) briefly recovered to cut the deficit to five in the third quarter, but the Knicks finished their business with a double-digit lead for the final 15 minutes.
The game in D.C. ended much like the night prior in Philly — with Knicks fans, having infiltrated the opposition’s arena, chanting, “Let’s go Knicks.”
Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson combined for 72 points, each getting at least 30 apiece for just the second time this season. The first time was just five days prior against the Bulls.
Randle dropped 39 points in 38 minutes on 13-for-23 shooting. Brunson shot 10-for-18 with eight assists and 33 points.
OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Isaiah Hartenstein (19 rebounds) were again the intangible stars.
The victory pushed the Knicks (21-15) to a season-high six games over .500 and 14-1 against teams currently under .500.
Though it’s probably still too early to put much stock in the standings, they moved up to fourth in the East with the Pacers losing Saturday to the Celtics.
It also meant the Knicks remain undefeated since dealing for Anunoby, whose presence has boosted the defense and allowed Randle and Brunson more room to operate offensively.
“There’s an energy right now that we have,” said DiVincenzo, who scored 10 points in 26 minutes Saturday. “And it’s contagious. Guys are celebrating each other, guys are moving the ball.”
Among the positive developments after the trade is an increase in off-ball cutting.
It’s a strength of DiVincenzo’s and Anunoby’s, in particular, creating more ball movement and even incorporating Isaiah Hartenstein into the offense as a facilitator from the elbow.
Stylistically it makes sense since RJ Barrett’s game is more predicated on creation with the ball rather than moving without it. Same with Immanuel Quickley.
Not coincidentally, the Knicks were averaging more assists and points with the new starting lineup and dished out 27 Saturday, three above their season average.
They’ve committed to cutting and beating the bad teams.
“And that’s the thing. It’s contagious. Somebody does it, you see it, and say, ‘OK, if I cut, I can get a dunk, too,’ ” DiVincenzo said. “Or, you cut but I get the ball and you’re opening up a 3 for somebody else. So it’s contagious. There’s an energy with the basketball. When you do something for somebody else, it comes back to you.”
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