Brandon Knight made a three-pointer with 1.4 seconds left and finished with 25 points, and the Milwaukee Bucks snapped a six-game losing streak with a 101-98 victory Monday night over the New York Knicks.
Knight took a couple dribbles, then quickly fired his three from the wing with Raymond Felton leaping into the air. Felton turned in disbelief as Knight rushed down the other end to celebrate.
The Knicks had one last chance, though Carmelo Anthony misfired on a deep three. He finished with 36 points.
New York rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but ended up falling to the worst team in the NBA.
Khris Middleton added 19 points and a season-high five threes for Milwaukee, who also snapped a seven-game skid to New York.
Rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo had 15 points and sparked the crowd with a rousing dunk in the fourth quarter, while Zaza Pachulia also gave the Bucks a lift off the bench with 12 points and seven rebounds.
New York were usually never more than a few possessions away and the last few minutes got even tighter.
Anthony hesitated before firing up a three with 19 seconds left to tie the game at 98 before Knight’s last-second heroics.
Unlike most of the rest of the season, the Bucks had a counterpunch for every Knicks spurt.
Knight’s back-door layup off a pretty feed by Pachulia with 27.5 seconds left gave Milwaukee a three-point lead to answer Raymond Felton’s three on the previous possession.
Middleton hit a three with 2:44 left that was answered on the next possession by Anthony’s own three about 17 seconds for another tie.
Anthony finished 13-of-25 from the field and 5-of-10 from three-point range, while Tyson Chandler had seven points and 10 rebounds but was just 1-of-6 from the foul line.
Knight nearly matched Anthony shot for shot, going 10-of-23 from the field and 4-of-8 from long range. Middleton was 6-of-9 and 5-of-6 from the arc.
New York led by seven early and had plenty of chances to gain control but went through inopportune dry spells and went just 15-of-24 from the foul line.
The Knicks lost to the Bucks two days after falling to the Southeast Division-leading Miami Heat.
In the first half, Milwaukee went 10-of-15 from the field, including 5-of-5 from three-point range, in the final 8:42 of the second quarter to go from down seven points to up by seven at halftime.
Knight and Middleton hit open threes on back-to-back possessions during a 28-14 spurt to close the half, and the Bucks got a lift when Anthony went to the bench with 3:38 left with his third foul.
OTHER MONDAY RESULTS
Thunder 86, Grizzlies 77
Kevin Durant scored 31 points to lead Oklahoma City to a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Durant, who returned to form after his 12-game streak of 30-point games ended in Brooklyn on Friday, also racked up eight rebounds and eight assists for the Western Conference-leading Thunder (39-11).
Zach Randolph paced the Grizzlies (26-21) with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Heat 102, Pistons 96
Dwyane Wade had 30 points and LeBron James nearly had his first triple-double of the season, leading the Miami Heat to a victory over the Detroit Pistons.
James had 24 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds as the Heat (34-13) avenged one of their four home losses this season. Detroit won in Miami 107-97 on December 3.
Detroit (19-28) had their two-game win streak snapped and lost ground on idle Charlotte (21-28), who currently hold the eighth and final play-off spot in the Eastern Conference.
Spurs 102, Pelicans 95
Tony Parker scored 21 of his game-high 32 points in the second half and helped erase a 14-point deficit in the final 11 minutes with a 38-19 fourth quarter to lift the San Antonio Spurs to a victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Pelicans led by as many as 14 points early in the fourth quarter, but the Spurs (35-13) unleashed a 21-4 blitz in a 6:08 span to take an 87-84 lead.
Reserve guard Anthony Morrow scored 20 points for New Orleans (20-27).
Pacers 98, Magic 79
Danny Granger scored a season-high 16 points to lead a dominant effort from the Indiana Pacers’ bench in a blowout of the Orlando Magic.
Indiana (37-10) are 25-2 against teams that are now below .500 and went on a tear midway through the second half to dispatch Orlando (13-37).
Lance Stephenson had 15 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for Eastern Conference-leading Indiana.
Wizards 100, Trail Blazers 90
John Wall scored 22 points and Trevor Ariza added 20 as the Washington Wizards moved above .500 for the first time since 2009 with a win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Washington (24-23) won for the fourth time in six games. The Wizards last owned a winning record when they were 2-1 on October 31, 2009.
Damian Lillard scored 25 points for the Trail Blazers (34-14), who lost for the third time in four games.
Mavericks 124, Cavaliers 107
All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points, leading the Dallas Mavericks to a routine victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Five other Mavericks (28-21) scored in double figures, while All-Star guard Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 27 for the Cavaliers (16-32).
Nets 108, 76ers 102
Deron Williams broke out of a personal slump in a big way, scoring 21 points to help the Brooklyn Nets earn a win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Williams notched 20 points for the first time in about a month, while Paul Pierce had a game-high 25 points for the Nets (21-25).
Philadelphia rookie guard Michael Carter-Williams scored 21 points for the 76ers (15-34).
Raptors 94, Jazz 79
All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points and centre Jonas Valanciunas added 18 points and nine rebounds as the Toronto Raptors earned a rare win in Utah.
The Raptors improved to 26-22 after winning in Utah for just the second time in nine visits since 2006.
Forward Marvin Williams scored a season-high 23 points for the Jazz (16-32).
Nuggets 116, Clippers 115
Randy Foye nailed a buzzer-beating three as Denver (23-23) upset Los Angeles (34-17).
Foye was just 3-of-10 before the shot, with 11 points. He finished 4-of-11 with 14 and seven rebounds.
Kenneth Faried led the Nuggets with 28 points on 11-of-13 shooting and 11 rebounds. Ty Lawson scored 27, and JJ Hickson provided 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Blake Griffin paced the Clippers with 36 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.
Kings 99, Bulls 70
DeMarcus Cousins scored 25 points and 16 rebounds, added four assists and led Sacramento (16-32) to a blowout over Chicago (23-24) on a dreadful shooting night for the Bulls.
Kirk Hinrich (1-of-8), Joakim Noah (1-of-6), Carlos Boozer (4-of-15) and DJ Augustin (2-of-11) provided the lowlights in a 22-for-78 (28.2 per cent) team effort.
Jimmy Butler provided the closest thing to respectability, going 4-for-11 but making 8-of-10 free throws to score a team-best 17 points.
Isaiah Thomas shot 7-for-9 and added 19 points for the Kings.
