Knicks outlast Wizards for wild OT win

No, the New York Knicks did not lose Tuesday night.

After five overtime defeats, including an excruciating one several days earlier, the Knicks finally won a game that lasted longer than 48 minutes by defeating the Washington Wizards 114-110.

But the close nature of the game against what should have been an overmatched opponent led to a testy team meeting in which the Knicks were read the riot act.

``He was very mad. He knew this was a terrible win,'' Penny Hardaway said of the tirade by Thomas, the team president. ``It's almost unacceptable -- it is unacceptable, to barely win a game like this against a team that doesn't have any playoff hopes, and on your home floor.''

Tim Thomas scored 32 points and Stephon Marbury had 16 points and 14 assists as New York narrowly defeated an opponent that had been struggling -- which is an understatement -- all month.

New York remained tied with Miami for seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

Isiah Thomas did not comment on his postgame remarks except to say he spoke with the team -- and to apologize for keeping the locker closed for nearly 30 minutes.

``He just spoke the truth,'' Tim Thomas said. ``Whether it was deserved or not, he just spoke the truth. We know we're better than this. We have to prove to people that we're better. We've got to have pride.''

The Knicks got a chance for their first overtime victory of the season when Nazr Mohammed -- whose last-second overtime basket was waved off last Friday at Philadelphia -- tipped in a shot to tie the game at the end of regulation.

New York outscored Washington 18-14 in the extra session, with Tim Thomas, Kurt Thomas and Marbury scoring all the points. The Knicks were without one of their main offensive options as Allan Houston bruised his quadriceps just nine minutes into the game.

Gilbert Arenas had 27 points for Washington and was one of five players to foul out of the game. Jerry Stackhouse added 23 points as the Wizards lost their seventh game in a row.

The key sequence came midway through overtime after Stackhouse, who was not in the starting lineup, made a free throw for a 101-100 lead. Coach Eddie Jordan said the decision not to start was Stackhouse's.

Marbury fed Kurt Thomas for a short jumper, getting his 14th assist, and Stackhouse lofted an airball from the right side.

Marbury cut across the lane and hit a runner, and Tim Thomas picked off an errant pass by Arenas which led to a two-on-one break that Marbury ended with a pull-up jumper from 10 feet for a 106-101 lead.

Marbury had a chance to all but ice the victory, but missed two free throws with 18.6 seconds left. Stackhouse hit two free throws to make it a one-point game, and Tim Thomas made a pair with 17.1 remaining.

With Arenas having fouled out moments earlier, the Wizards designed a play for Steve Blake to take a 3-pointer. But Blake launched the shot from several feet behind the arc, and Tim Thomas rebounded, was fouled and wrapped it up from the line.

Vin Baker made his home debut for New York and had 10 points and eight rebounds before fouling out. Mohammed picked up his sixth foul -- an offensive one -- on the Knicks' first possession of overtime, and rookie Michael Sweetney finished at center.

The Knicks were coming off a stunning victory at Milwaukee in which they came back from a 26-point deficit. Prior to that, they lost in double overtime at Philadelphia.

``With the confidence that we got from Milwaukee, to come back home and not have a sense of urgency early on, that just hurt,'' Tim Thomas said. ``It's a victory, I'll take it, but at the same time we didn't play our best basketball -- and we know that. We've got to correct it.''

The first half was marked by decisive runs by both teams, the Knicks using a 21-4 spurt to go ahead 41-33 before Washington had a 16-2 run for a 49-47 lead at halftime.

The Knicks led 74-71 after three quarters and held three six-point leads early in the fourth, but a 12-2 run that included two dunks by Etan Thomas gave Washington a lead that held up until Mohammed's tip-in at the buzzer.

``Tonight was embarrassing,'' Wilkens said. ``I think that team played

Notes:
Arenas had eight assists and nine turnovers. ... Knicks C Dikembe Mutombo, out since March 3 after undergoing a minor surgical procedure, willmeet with his doctor Thursday to discuss when he might return.