As the preseason winds down, the New York Knicks took another step forward on Wednesday night and chalked up their first thrilling finish under Coach Derek Fisher.

With 15 seconds left in a tie game, Carmelo Anthony made sure the Knicks wouldn’t need extra time to dispatch of the Washington Wizards as he drained a go-ahead two pointer and drew a foul that sent him to the line.

After Anthony knocked down his free throw, New York got the stop they needed to preserve a narrow 103-100 victory over the Wizards at Madison Square Garden.

Though the win was a satisfying result for the Knickerbockers, afterward Coach Fish wasn’t ready to bask in the glow of a victory and instead talked about the job done by his squad, which shot 53.2 percent from the floor and dished out 22 assists.

“That’s what we talked about after the game tonight it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about what we’re doing right now, tonight,” Fish said of his players’ development this preseason. “Guys are facilitating plays for each other, making the extra pass (and) sharing the basketball. We’ve been in excess of 20-plus assists almost every night of the preseason, and that speaks to their willingness of playing as one of five, and not as one of one.”

In addition to knocking down the clutch game-winning shot, Anthony had his biggest game yet in the triangle offense.

The New York star dropped a game-high 30 points to go with three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Melo, who logged 34 minutes Wednesday, is the established centerpiece for D-Fish’s triangle attack, which has now put up triple digits in consecutive games for the first time this preseason.

After the game, Fish revealed his plan of ramping up Anthony’s minutes to help him prepare for the season, while team president Phil Jackson both praised his star player and identified where he’ll have to improve going forward.

“Carmelo Anthony is obviously the team’s only certified All-Star,” Jackson said. “It’s also no secret that Melo has to keep the ball moving, but he’s committed to doing this. Passing has never been a great strength of his, but in the triangle he’ll be able to have checkoff reads like a quarterback looking for his first-option receiver, then his second and then his third.”

The Knicks were buoyed in the early going of Wednesday’s game by a hot start from Anthony, who tallied nine points in the opening quarter. But Melo also answered Jackson’s call by dishing on a jumper from the team’s promising second-year guard, Tim Hardaway Jr.

Shortly thereafter, Hardaway Jr. got the ball to a wide-open Shane Larkin beyond the arc for an uncontested three pointer. The shot bounced off the rim, but Melo used his quick hands to snatch the ball out of mid air, and slam it back through the hoop, which tied the game at 15.

The Wizards responded with a three from John Wall, who finished second to Anthony with 29 points, and a dunk by Otto Porter Jr. However, New York’s No. 7 answered right back and knocked down a trifecta off a feed from Larkin.

Larkin, who came to the Knicks in the Tyson Chandler/Raymond Felton trade with the Dallas Mavericks, tallied five points, four rebounds and four assists while starting at point in place of Jose Calderon. D-Fish has been pleasantly surprised by the performance of his second-year point man thus far.

“Shane’s speed and understanding of basketball is something we’ve really grown to appreciate,” Fish said. “In a lot of ways, this is still a rookie campaign for him after the injury he had last season that took him out of preseason and training camp. So these are important opportunities for him, and I thought he was really smartly aggressive when he was out on the floor.”

Starting center Samuel Dalembert, who joined New York in the same trade with Dallas also had a big night. The veteran big man dished out a team-high five assists and brought the hammer down low defensively, notching three blocks over the course of the game, including two on D.C. center Nene.

Dalembert’s first block gave New York a big offensive boost. After crushing an errant shot attempt by Nene, he flicked the ball down court to Anthony for a wide-open dunk. That play tied the game at 47 late in the second quarter. His second stuff came just seconds later on Nene, and this time Jason Smith corralled the loose ball and sent it to Hardaway for an easy transition lay-in that sent New York to the locker room with a 51-50 lead.

Smith, who had eight points and four rebounds in 23 minutes, has also emerged as a key piece of the puzzle down low for Fish’s squad. Afterward, the Knicks coach talked about Smith’s impact, particularly with Andrea Bargnani out of the lineup with a strained hamstring.

“Jason is a guy that is a veteran player and has been on multiple teams,” Derek said. “He understands the game, he’s physical and not afraid to mix it up out there on the floor. In our offense our big guys are going to get some elbow extended free-throw line jumpers and he’s capable of making those shots. We expect over time as he gets into the groove and rhythm, he’ll be a guy who can help us, especially right now with Andrea out. All of our frontcourt guys are very important to what we’re trying to do.”

That list of vital big men also includes forward Quincy Acy, who has shown so far this preseason that he has what it takes to be a key member of the Knicks rotation. Acy missed Wednesday night’s contest with a sore wrist, but Derek is confident he’ll be good to go for next week’s regular-season opener.

“He probably could’ve played,” D-Fish said. “Quincy has separated himself a little bit as a guy who is going to be helpful to us…So we wanted to get his wrist some rest tonight. We’ll see about Friday, but hopefully by Wednesday night, whether he is starting or not, he’ll be a guy who will be able to help us.”

Both teams came out firing after the break and combined for 16 points in the first 2:30 of the second half. But down the stretch in the third quarter, the Wizards pulled away behind some big buckets from Wall, Porter and Garrett Temple.

The Knicks started the final frame trailing by eight, but just when they needed it, they came through with one of their best quarters of the entire preseason. Anthony led the way with 12 points in the final 12 minutes, and the final two minutes of the contest brought plenty of thrills from the Knickerbockers.

A pair of Anthony free throws gave New York a four-point lead at the 2:15 mark, but Wall answered back with a mid-range jumper, then got a steal that he turned into a transition slam to tie the game at 97, forcing Fish to call a timeout. Derek’s play out of the quick break worked to perfection, as the Knicks sprung guard Pablo Prigioni for an open three to regain the lead, 100-97.

Not long after, Washington came back with a triple of their own of the fingertips of Rasual Butler to knot the game once again at 100. However, this just set Melo up to do what he does best.

Anthony sized up defender Damion James on the left wing and dropped a 15-foot jumper through a foul. The New York star finished the three-point play at the line, where he was a perfect 6-of-6 on the night. Porter missed Washington’s final prayer from deep at the buzzer and the Knicks left their home court with a 103-100 win.

However, like his coach, after the game, Anthony didn’t have much to say about his game winner. The Knicks forward instead chose to speak about how he’s feeling about what’s going with Coach Fish’s team on in New York and the positive steps they have take as a cohesive unit so far this preseason.

“We’re just working, we’re just trying to get better,” Anthony said after the game. “We’ve got a group of guys that work hard, that’s locked in, embracing this new change (and) embracing everything that’s coming for us. We’ll be all right.”

Derek echoed the sentiments of his star forward, saying that he’s pleased with the overall progress of his squad. He also predicted that the team will only continue to improve as the triangle becomes second nature.

“They’re doing everything that we’re asking them to do,” he said. “They’re all trying to do it the right way, and in some ways that’s what adds to how much time it will take for us to just be able to play without thinking. A lot of what’s happening out there is really elite basketball players who are naturally instinctive are having to stop and think. And that half a second in the NBA is what costs you. So as time goes on, those half a seconds will be in our favor.”

NEXT UP

The Knicks will take Thursday to rest up and practice before traveling to Canada for their preseason finale against the Toronto Raptors. The two teams met earlier this preseason at MSG, and the Raptors came out with an 81-76 victory.

Fish’s squad will look to reverse that result on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on MSG.

Then, after Knicks Postgame, stay tuned to MSG for “What is The Triangle Offense” a Spike Lee/Orange and Blue Skies Joint that will give an inside look at the infamous system and how it works. Here’s a first look at the documentary event.

RELATED ARTICLES

• Phil Jackson gives his critique of all Knicks players (Newsday, Oct. 22, 2014)
• Fisher reacts to close win past Wizards (Knicks.com, Oct. 22, 2014)
• Anthony scores 30 as Knicks beat Wizards (AP, Oct. 22, 2014)
• Phil Jackson breaks down entire Knicks roster (NY Post, Oct. 22, 2014)
• Van Gundy snipes at Jackson’s triangle but praises Knicks (NY Post, Oct. 22, 2014)