Francis’ three at buzzer lifts Knicks over Wizards

Eddy Curry finished with 19 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who have won three of their last four games and moved into a tie with Orlando for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Stephon Marbury added 15 points and Channing Frye 12 for New York, which played without Quentin Richardson, Jamal Crawford and David Lee.

Gilbert Arenas scored 25 points and Antawn Jamison added 18 for Washington, which has lost two in a row since a three-game losing streak.

Trailing 88-85, Francis penetrated, made a driving layup and was fouled. However, Francis missed the foul shot. Andray Blatche, who rebounded the miss was immediately fouled, but he settled for 1-of-2 at the line.

Then out of timeouts, New York got the ball to Francis who ran to the top of the key on the left side and drilled a three at the buzzer.

The Knicks won despite shooting just 16-28 from the free throw line.

The Wizards went on a 9-0 run, capped by an Arenas triple, putting the Wizards up 15-6 with 4:55 left in the first frame. The Knicks scored the next six points to pull within three and trailed just 21-19 after one quarter.

Washington held onto the lead throughout the second quarter, but New York stayed within arm’s length and trailed just 41-39 at the intermission.

Trailing 53-51, New York went on a 11-4 spurt, capped by a Francis three, giving the Knicks their largest lead, 62-57 with 3:31 left in the third period. The Wizards answered by scoring seven straight to take a two-point lead with 1:29 left in the frame.

Marbury’s trey with 12 seconds left in the third stanza gave New York a 67-66 edge heading into the final quarter.

The Wizards scored the first six points of the final quarter to go ahead 72-67 with just over 9 1/2 minutes remaining.

Game Notes

New York outrebounded Washington 44-35...New York finished 33-of-80 from the field while Washington shot 29-of-72...Washington plays seven of its next eight games on the road...New York defeated Washington for just the second time in the last six meetings...Richardson is out due to a sore back, while Crawford and Lee are also hurt.