The Knicks fought tooth and nail and needed every point they could get in Saturday night's 136-132 overtime win against the Washington Wizards.

Here are the takeaways...

-Despite being heavy favorites against the last-place Wizards, Saturday's contest was always going to be a challenge for New York who was playing in its second game in as many nights after beating the Orlando Magic on Friday night. It showed early on in the game as Washington got off to a 14-5 lead.

The Knicks, however, were able to cut the deficit to 31-30 by the end of the quarter, but it was clear the defense was not as sharp, letting the Wizards, without Kyle Kuzma, shoot 14-for-25 from the field in the first 12 minutes (3-for-8 from deep).

-After a near-dead-even second quarter where neither team had a lead of more than three points, the game was tied at the half, 60-60.

-New York got its second glimpse of the second-overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Alexandre Sarr, who scored just eight points in his first game against New York on Nov. 8 -- a 134-106 win for the Knicks. The 7-footer finished with 12 points, five assists and six rebounds in 31 minutes on Saturday.

The biggest thorn in New York's side, though, was Justin Champagnie who torched the Knicks for a career-high 31 points on 13-of-15 shooting (5-for-6 from three) to go along with 10 rebounds (four offensive) for a double-double. In all, the Wizards had seven players finish with double-digit points, including Malcolm Brogdon (22), Bilal Coulibaly (18), Carlton Carrington (17), Kyshawn George (13) and Corey Kispert (11).

-To counter Washington's well-balanced offense, New York turned to its stars in Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. The duo scored 85 of the team's 136 points, going a combined 31-for-50 from the floor. Brunson had a season-high 55 points, six points shy of tying his career high, with nine assists.

-The Knicks hoped to get more production out of their bench on the second night of a back-to-back, but the only meaningful contribution came from Precious Achiuwa who logged 19 minutes and finished with three points, seven rebounds and two assists. Instead, New York leaned on Brunson, especially in the second half, and the rest of its starters to get back into the game.

-The third quarter was nearly identical to the second with both teams trading baskets and neither able to separate themselves -- that is until the Knicks hit a nearly four-minute-long scoring drought towards the end of the period where the Wizards were able to pull ahead by eight points entering the final frame.

-Down by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter, New York found its footing and was able to punch back late. Brunson scored nine of the team's final 12 points of regulation, including a floating jumper with 11.1 seconds remaining to tie the game at 119-119, which sent the game into overtime. Towns also stepped up in the fourth, scoring 10 straight points as the Knicks outscored Washington 29-21 in the fourth.

-In overtime, Brunson continued to carry his team, getting to the basket and converting from the free throw line. And while the Knicks did not shoot well from beyond the arc (10-for-40), they made up for it at the charity stripe (24-for-26) with Brunson the biggest reason why, going 16-for-17. New York needed all of those freebies, too, because the Wizards (who shot 52 percent from the field and 45 percent from deep) would not go quietly.

-The Knicks have won seven straight games and are 11-2 in the month of December with one game left.

Game MVP: Jalen Brunson

When the Knicks need someone to save them, it's become expected that Brunson will answer the call which he did once again on Saturday night.

Here are the takeaways...

Game MVP: Jalen Brunson

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