Since Saturday’s 123-100 ugly loss at home against Denver, which resulted in seven player suspensions, Knicks coach Isiah Thomas has watched his team squeak out two wins in incredible fashion at Madison Square Garden.
On Monday, Stephon Marbury hit the game-winning layup as the clock expired in overtime, lifting the undermanned Knicks over the Utah Jazz, 97-96.
Two nights later it was Lee’s turn, on a night the Knicks overcame a 19-point deficit.
The Bobcats had a chance to win at the end of the second overtime, but Matt Carroll was stripped by Marbury, and the Knicks called timeout with 1/10th of a second left.
By NBA rules, 3/10ths of a second is required for a catch and shoot, so that was out of the question for the Knicks. Jamal Crawford inbounded the ball toward the basket, and Lee, twisting away from the glass, used his right hand to tip the ball over Charlotte’s Gerald Wallace and into the basket
"I didn’t know if we’d have enough time," Lee said. "I knew I couldn’t come down with it so the best thing I could do is get a stab at the ball with one or two fingers, and hope, put it toward the basket and hope to get a roll. I was able to do that."
At first, Lee was tempered in his celebration while officials looked at replay to confirm the tip came before the final buzzer.
"I don’t want to be one of those guys that just celebrates and jumps all over the place, and then they say the basket doesn’t count," Lee said. "I waited to make sure it counted and was just excited we won the game. Our team deserved it tonight. "We’ve been putting in a lot of hard work. We had a tough last week here. We’re shorthanded and just happy to get another victory to move forward."
Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff walked off the court in disbelief, signifying another tough defeat for a team stuck on six victories this season.
"I saw David jump and he hit it, I was just like ’What!?," Charlotte’s Emeka Okafor said. "I’d rather lose by 10 or something. That stunk."
The Knicks, who played without injured starting guards Steve Francis and Quentin Richardson, were led by 30 points from Channing Frye. Eddy Curry added 29 points and nine rebounds, while Lee totaled 10 points and 19 boards. Crawford had 25 points and nine assists, as the Knicks won back-to-back games for just the second time all season.
Wallace had 28 points to lead Charlotte, which lost for the sixth time in seven games.
"It’s just the way we fought," Wallace said. "It seems like every time at the end when there’s that last-second play we need that luck, that big play. The ball seems to bounce the other way."
The Knicks were behind by as many as five points in the second OT, but scored the final seven points. Carroll’s bucket extended Charlotte to a 109-104 lead with 2:10 left, but Marbury hit a pair from the foul line and Curry completed a three-point play to tie the game with 1:30 remaining.
Both teams missed opportunities to go in front, setting up Carroll’s play in the lane and Lee’s heroics.
Primoz Brezec had 21 points for Charlotte, which also got 13 points and 16 assists from Raymond Felton. Okafor had 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The Bobcats led 35-28 after the opening quarter and widened that margin to 63-52 at the half. Their largest lead was 19 points earlier in the second quarter at 62-43.
Frye’s jumper closed New York’s deficit to 65-63, and later in the period a 16-2 Knicks run gave them an 86-79 advantage going into the fourth. Crawford hit a dramatic three-pointer at the end of the period.
It was tight throughout the entire fourth quarter. Crawford could have won the game at the end of regulation, but he missed a jumper, leaving the score tied at 95. Crawford missed a desperation three-pointer at the end of the first overtime, putting the game into a second OT even at 102.
Game Notes
Frye’s 30 points equals a career-best...Marbury surpassed the 15,000-point barrier. He finished with 10 points and nine assists...Carroll scored 15 and Adam Morrison 14 for the Bobcats.
Charlotte Bobcats 
New York Knicks 
