WASHINGTON — The Knicks turned their attention to the Wizards pretty quickly after they roasted the Sixers. Almost immediately, according to Donte DiVincenzo.
After all, 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.
So 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.
Asked about his team’s 14-1 record against teams currently with losing records, Julius Randle, who dropped a game-high 39 points Saturday, put it like this:
“Don’t play with your food,” he said. “Take care of what you’re supposed to take care of.”
Washington (6-29) briefly made it interesting by cutting the deficit to five in the third quarter, but the Knicks finished their meal 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.” 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 Timberwolves, in the debut of OG Anunoby. They are 4-0 in games he has played.
Randle logged 38 minutes and shot 13-for-23, falling one point shy of 40 for the second time in a week. Brunson shot 10-for-18 with eight assists and 33 points.
Anunoby, Josh Hart and Isaiah Hartenstein (19 rebounds) were again the intangible stars.
“It was important to come out with energy, especially in a back-to-back,” Brunson said. “I think we played great besides that run they had in the third quarter. Besides that lapse, we had a pretty good game.”
The victory pushed the Knicks (21-15) to a season-high six games over .500.
And 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.”
