Knicks Bounce the Heat

The last shot, the last bounce and the last call all went the New York Knicks’ way. So did the last game.

Allan Houston’s running 14-footer bounded off the front of the rim and then hit the backboard before falling through the hoop with 0.8 seconds left Sunday, and the Knicks eliminated the Miami Heat, 78-77, to win their first-round series, 3-2.

The Knicks kept possession with 4.5 seconds left when Terry Porter nearly stole the ball from Sprewell but knocked it out of bounds.

Porter’s desperation 40-footer at the buzzer was off-line, and for the second year in a row, the Heat’s season ended at home against their fiercest rivals.

It was the third winner-take-all playoff game in the past three years between the teams. Miami eliminated New York in Game 7 in 1997; the Knicks beat the Heat in the deciding Game 5 last year.

The Knicks also became only the second No. 8 seed in NBA history to defeat a No. 1 seed.