English fans enjoyed a thriller last night as the Washington Wizards defeated the News York Knicks on a last-second bucket at the O2 Arena.

NBA’s annual London game gathered many celebrities including singer Ellie Bamber and Arsenal footballers Alexander Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Hector Bellerin.

There was controversy before the match had even begun, as Knicks Turkish player, Enes Kanter, did not travel with the squad over fears for his safety due to his open criticism of Turkish President Recep Erdogan. However, the O2 arena and the NBA fans were treated with a classic that went down to the wire.

The Wizards completed a 19-point comeback after the referees called Allonzo Trier (Knicks) for goaltending on a layup made by Thomas Bryant (Wizards) with 0.4 seconds remaining.

Bradley Beal led the Washington side with 26 points and 9 rebounds, and Otto Porter Jr. helped with 20 points and 11 rebounds to secure his third double-double of the season.

Emmanuel Mudiay added 25 points and 7 rebounds for the young Knicks, who have lost their last five games and sit one win above the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are at the bottom of the league.

The Knicks led for most of the game and even took a commanding 19-point lead in the second quarter. However, the Wizards rallied back to make it a one-point game with only three minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

With 33.7 seconds on the clock, the Knicks took the lead again thanks to Noah Vonleh’s clever finish to make it 100-99.

However, New York’s star rookie, Kevin Knox, was called on a shot-clock violation which gave the ball to the Wizards with 3.3 seconds remaining.

The Wizards took advantage of the turnover, with Thomas Bryant driving to the lane and making a layup which was blocked by Allonzo Trier.

To the surprise of many Knicks’ players the play was called goaltending (blocking a shot which is in a downward trajectory) and gave Washington the two points they needed to win the match.