Final Score: New York 102, Charlotte 99

New York, NY (Sports Network) - Tim Thomas' three-pointer as time expired bounced through to give the New York Knicks a 102-99 win over the Charlotte Bobcats at Madison Square Garden.

Jamal Crawford ended with a game-high 23 points off the bench for the Knicks, who ended a two-game slide and won for only the second time in eight contests. Stephon Marbury had 16 points and six assists for New York, which also earned just its fourth victory in 22 outings.

Thomas, who 35 seconds earlier missed a three-pointer that would have given the Knicks the lead, had only seven points in the contest, finishing 3-of-6 from the field and 1-of-3 from behind the arc.

Rookie Bernard Robinson scored a career-high 18 points for the Bobcats, who have lost six in a row. He ended the game shooting 7-of-9, but he missed a driving layup with 14 seconds left, giving the Knicks one last chance at the win.

The Bobcats had stormed back to overcome a 14-point third-quarter deficit and tied the game at 87-87 when Robinson hit a jumper with 4:46 remaining.

The two teams went back-and-forth and the Knicks escaped a major melt down when Kurt Thomas was called for a flagrant foul on Gerald Wallace with 3:44 on the clock. Wallace hit only 1-of-2 free throws and the Jason Hart missed a jumper on the ensuing possession and New York continued to hold a slim lead, 91-90.

The Knicks capitalized by scoring the next six points to hold a 97-90 edge with 2:28 left.

However, the Bobcats didn't go away and eventually tied the game at 99-99 when Robinson hit the first three-pointer of his career with 49 seconds remaining.

Fourteen seconds later, Tim Thomas missed a trey attempt that gave the Bobcats a chance to take their first lead since the first quarter. However, after a timeout Robinson came up empty on a driving shot and Tim Thomas hauled in the rebound with 12 seconds left.

On the winning play, the ball was inbounded to Marbury, who pounded the ball into the floor until there was about five seconds remaining. He then passed to Kurt Thomas at the left elbow. Kurt Thomas then found Tim Thomas in the corner.

The shot had to be reviewed by officials before being counted as it appeared it might have hit the shot clock after taking a big bounce off the rim. Replays showed, however, that the ball hit the backboard at the top on the way up and fell through.

"I just feel good to get a win," said Tim Thomas. "I was just hoping it would go in. I rushed a shot before that. This time I had enough time to get a good grip. Sometimes it just goes in. It hit the rim and went in, lucky it went in."

Charlotte's bench scored 58 points, led by Robinson, while the Knicks reserves tallied 55. Penny Hardaway and Mike Sweetney added 14 points apiece off the pine for New York.

"I thought it went in," said Robinson of his final shot. "I went to the left, my favorite side, I thought I got it high enough. It didn't come off my hand right and it fell short. I wish I could've had it back."

Hart had 17 points off the bench for the Bobcats, who have lost 23 of their last 26 overall and 13 of 14 on the road.

Charlotte played without rookie center Emeka Okafor, who is nursing a left ankle injury. Okafor came off the injured list on Friday night and played in the Bobcats' loss to Miami, but he re-injured the ankle in the game and was forced to miss this contest.

The Knicks held a 21-19 lead after one quarter. The club began to build its lead in the second when a 10-2 run gave New York a 39-30 advantage. The Knicks eventually went ahead 49-38 on a pair of Crawford free throws with 54 seconds remaining in the half and carried a 55-45 cushion into the locker room.

In the third, the Knicks grabbed their largest lead of the game when Sweetney hit a layup with 2:27 left to give the Knicks a 14-point cushion, 76-62. The bucket ended an 11-3 burst and allowed the Knicks to cruise into the fourth with a 79-79 advantage.

Game Notes

Brevin Knight, who left the game with a sprained ankle, had briefly left the game in the first half after suffering a jammed wrist...Charlotte's Primoz Brezec missed the game due to a left knee injury...Jerome Williams missed the first of two free throws with 1:52 left in the third to end New York's perfect night from the free throw line...Kareem Rush returned to the lineup for the Bobcats after a four-game absence due to a back spasms. He ended with 11 points...Kurt Thomas had 12 points and six boards.

02/13 21:49:29 ET