LONDON — The Knicks proved they can just as easily choke in the fourth quarter in Britain as in the United States. This time, the Knicks did it on a buzzer-beating goaltending call against rookie Allonzo Trier.
Dominating play and a pleasure to watch for three quarters, the Knicks fell apart late as the Wizards stole a 101-100 victory in an O2 Arena thriller.
On the final play, pick-and-rolling Washington center Thomas Bryant broke free for a driving lay-in attempt. Trier skied for the block, but it was ruled the ball was over the cylinder and on its descent. The referees reviewed the play for several minutes, assessed the goaltending and put 0.4 seconds back on the clock.
Kevin Knox inbounded to Emmanuel Mudiay (25 points), who said he slipped, and his turnaround chuck became a game-ending airball, giving the Knicks their 18th loss in 21 games, a 10-34 record and a tough seven-hour flight home Friday morning.
“This one hurts,” Knicks coach David Fizdale said after his team blew a 19-point second-quarter lead. “These close-game losses are the toughest because as a coach you want that game for them.”
Trier thought he had a bloody clean block — even after seeing the replay.
“I thought I blocked it,’’ Trier said by the team bus. “I thought even moreso I blocked it [after seeing the replay]. The refs made their call. It was either let him lay it up or try to make a play on the ball. I tried to make a play on the ball to try to save us from losing the game.”
Fizdale thought the referees got it right — just barely.
“What I saw on the film was the ball just ticked one tick down,’’ Fizdale told two New York writers on his way out. “It was almost a game-winning, game-saving block. That he didn’t give up on the play says a lot about the kid.”
With owner James Dolan making the trip, the Knicks couldn’t provide him a win in the NBA’s showcase game abroad before a sell-out crowd of 19,078.
“It definitely sucks, flying this far and not coming out with the outcome that you wanted,’’ Mudiay said.
“It won’t be something to smile about,’’ Trier said of the plane ride home. “We did good things but we didn’t take care of the lead we had. It’s going to be frustrating.’’
Noah Vonleh had given the Knicks the one-point lead with a hook shot in the lane with 34 seconds left — another lead they couldn’t hold.
After a Wizards miss, Mudiay got the rebound with 27 seconds left. The Knicks dribbled down the clock, the Wizards didn’t foul and Mudiay coughed up the ball as the 24-second clock expired with three seconds to go, setting up the final possession.
“We thought we could get a stop,’’ Wizards coach Scott Brooks said of his decision not to foul.
Bryant got open when Vonleh went to trap Bradley Beal after he took an inbounds feed. Fizdale said Tim Hardaway Jr. was supposed to switch with Vonleh. Instead, Beal got doubled and found a free bloke in Bryant.
“We had a breakdown in coverage,’’ Fizdale said. “We were supposed to switch. We didn’t switch and we paid for it. Tim kept coming. I don’t know if he was locked into Beal and just thinking Beal, Beal.’’
Still, Mudiay was supposed to offer weakside help but never rotated to Bryant. This wasn’t a case of jet lag, however.
“Those are mistakes we make well-rested,’’ Fizdale said.
The London rims were favorable for the Knicks in the first half as they shot their way to a 63-53 advantage, leading by as many as 19 points. The Knicks carried an 89-77 lead into the fourth period, when it all stopped happening for the NBA’s youngest team.
Beal (26 points) and Otto Porter Jr. (20 points) took over that final period. Mudiay hit 9 of his first 10 shots but then couldn’t find enough magic in the final period. Midway through the fourth, Mudiay missed a wide open bunny from 5 feet and Beal answered with a 3-pointer to give the Wizards their first lead, 91-90, since early in the first quarter.
Beal hit a fallaway over Trier and got fouled and made it 97-93 with 2:01 left. Mudiay responded by draining a key 3-pointer that gave the Knicks the lead back at 98-97 with 1:05 left. It wasn’t enough.
“A lot of these stuff in these close games is having a closer — a guy that at the end of a game who can carry you for six, seven minutes,’’ Fizdale said. “We don’t have that.”
The Knicks had plenty of good play from their two young centers. Missing Enes Kanter because he feared for his safety amid a feud with the Turkish government, budding swat machine rookie Mitchell Robinson (four points, two rebounds, one block, 10 minutes) had a successful return from a month-long absence, boosting the defense with his athleticism. Luke Kornet hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter and finished with 16 points.
The fans were decidedly cheering harder for the Knicks, though many applauded for both teams’ made baskets. By the end, the British fans had received a good lesson on the definition of goaltending.
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