Bradley Beal finishes with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in his 1st game since Jan. 3.

NEW YORK (AP) — Bradley Beal made his first shot to give Washington a lead it never gave up.

With their leading scorer back, the Wizards finally got their starting lineup together again and couldn’t have asked for a better reunion.

“We get to see what we’re like as a whole,” Beal said, “and if we continue to compete like that we’ll be pretty good.”

Kyle Kuzma led the way with 27 points, Beal scored 18 in his return from a five-game absence and the Wizards never trailed in a 116-105 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.

Beal also had four rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes after missing two weeks with a left hamstring strain.

Washington had dropped four of five without its leading scorer.