Wizards 90, Knicks 89
Washington's Bradley Beal sank a pull-up jumper with 22 seconds left and J.R. Smith missed a long-range shot at the buzzer as New York fell out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference with the loss to the visiting Wizards.
Beal finished with 28 points and John Wall finished with 19 points and nine assists for Washington but committed seven turnovers. Marcin Gortat had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Trevor Ariza pitched in 10 points for Washington, which stayed within 1 1/2 games of the fifth-place Brooklyn Nets.
Smith scored a season-high 32 points with the help of an 8-for-16 performance from 3-point range, but was forced into a desperation heave at the buzzer when the ball was stripped from Carmelo Anthony as he drove to the basket. Amar’e Stoudemire added 16 points and Anthony chipped 10 but committed a season-high nine turnovers as New York dropped a game behind the Atlanta Hawks and into ninth place in the East.
Washington scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to erase a three-point deficit and surge ahead 71-67. Raymond Felton twice gave the Knicks a lead in the final minutes, the last on a 3-pointer with 33 seconds left, but Beal came up big at the other end.
The Knicks trailed by nine at the midway point of the first quarter but rallied to take a 43-39 lead at the half as both teams shot just under 40 percent from the floor. Smith, who scored 19 points in the opening half on 5-for-8 shooting from 3-point range, hit another 3 to start the second half but the Knicks couldn’t shake the Wizards, as Beal and Gortat combined for the first 12 points of the third quarter to keep them within three at the midway point.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Smith is 31-for-67 from 3-point range in the last five games. … Knicks F Carmelo Anthony suffered a shoulder injury but isn't expected to miss any action. … Former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly attended the game as he prepares to undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatments for oral cancer.