DOUBLE DOWN
Knicks come up short in crazy 2OT stunner
Undrafted rookie Allonzo Trier made his first career start and put himself in position to be a last-second hero — twice.
Trier succeeded neither time — in the final seconds of regulation nor in overtime as the Knicks (3-8) found another way to lose late on a suspect Emmanuel Mudiay foul with 0.2 seconds left in a ridiculously wild 116-115, double-overtime Garden thriller.
In the end, Trier, who finished with 21 points, lost the shootout against the Bulls’ Zach LaVine. Back from an ACL tear that cost him 11 months, LaVine pulled the game out at the free-throw line with 0.2 seconds left in the second OT, finishing with a career-hightying 41 points.
“It’s a tough one to take on the chin,’’ Trier said. “Tough way to end the game. Those are the ones we want to win when we’re right there. Back-to-back, legs were getting tired. Zach was saying the same thing. Who want to go home? Great battle to the end.”
The Knicks rallied late in the second overtime as Damyean Dotson secured a rebound and handed it to Mudiay (16 points), who raced downcourt for a layup that tied the game with 2.7 seconds left.
Then Mudiay gave the game back to the Bulls. LaVine wouldn’t let them lose. He tore to the basket and went up for a layup with Mudiay rising and drawing contact with 0.2 seconds left. The referees blew the whistle and it stood after a video review. LaVine made the first free throw and intentionally missed the next to end the madness.
“It was a fun game,” Knicks coach David Fizdale said. “We didn’t get the break.”
The Knicks’ prized lottery pick, Kevin Knox, was back after, missing seven games with an ankle sprain, but Tim Hardaway Jr. (back pain) was not. That left Trier to start at shooting guard.
Trier missed his first six shots before carrying the Knicks on his back in the fourth quarter with 11 points in the final six minutes. The rookie from Arizona finished with 21 points on 5-of-15 from the field.
Trier’s 3-pointer with 48 seconds left tied the score at 102. Then the Knicks got it back with 25 seconds left in regulation.
Trier dribbled the clock down, looking to win it on a walk-off.
“All the guys trust him in that situation,” Fizdale said. “He’s not afraid of those moments.”
Trier fired a pull-up from 18 feet that bounded off the back rim. Mario Hezonja’s putback missed at the buzzer. Hezonja continued his inconsistency, shooting 6-of-18 and missing key buckets down the stretch. “I thought I had a very good look,” Trier said of his fourth-quarter, last-second jumper. “I raised up and got a shot I usually make. It didn’t go down.”
In the first overtime, it was 108108 with 19.2 seconds left. Trier had another chance to seize the night. Again, he dribbled down the clock, and ex-Knick Robin Lopez rushed over for a massive block.
It brought on the second overtime. Trier drew first blood with a 3pointer and scored on a layup to make it 113-112 with 1:45 left. But then, facing double-teams, he deferred to Enes Kanter (23 points, 24 rebounds, seven assists), who ended his monster night with a missed open jumper in the final minute.
Frank Ntilikina and Trier formed the backcourt. Ntilikina went scoreless (0-for-6) and got benched while Trier rose like a giant. But the Arizona product couldn’t seal the deal.
Kanter, coming off the bench again and unhappy about it, became the first Knick to pull off a 20-20 game as a reserve since 1971 when those statistics started being compiled.
Incredibly, Kanter also had a chance to win it in the last second of the first OT, fielding a long inbounds pass, turning and firing a 40-footer that bounced off the rim long. “That was the play,” Kanter said. Starting at center, rookie Mitchell Robinson was no factor, going scoreless in 11 minutes. Knox played five first-half minutes, scoring on a fast-break dunk off a steal.
“Enes played great,” Fizdale said. “Mitchell didn’t have it tonight.”
Before the game, Fizdale said he hoped Kanter focused on winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award instead of mysterious tweets.
“I don’t worry about trophies,” Kanter said. “My thing is we promised this city the playoffs. So I have to make my teammates better whether on second or third unit.”