At End, Knicks Fail to Stop Beal and to Stop the Clock The final seven seconds at Madison Square Garden on Monday could be rewound over and over again - back from the point Carmelo Anthony threw his headband in disgust - and remain just as mystifying and incomprehensible. That might happen in a darkened office somewhere, into the wee hours of the night, where Knicks Coach Mike Woodson watches in horror the seven seconds that likely imperils his tenure only further. It might happen in Anthony's mind's eye. It might happen more gleefully on the Washington Wizards" team plane. But, undoubtedly, the final seven seconds will reverberate around this sinking franchise, if nothing else as a microcosm for their season's dramatic downturn. A winning franchise last season - now 7-17, as quickly as a Bradley Beal layup could knock another win from the Knicks" grasp. The layup, with seven seconds remaining, was only the beginning. The Knicks had three timeouts, but never discussed using them. Anthony had the ball in his hands, dribbled up the court, ran into a double team, flung up a desperation heave that missed, flung off his headband, and the Knicks lost, 102-101. "I think we expected a timeout," Anthony said. Things just happened so fast. After the game, Woodson took blame for not calling a timeout to set up a play. "The ball was in Melo's hands before I could even react," he said. I should have reacted sooner. His comments only made him seem more helpless, more culpable for mismanaging the game's most precious moments. Guard J. R. Smith defended Woodson, saying the players should have been aware enough to stop the clock. But Anthony, still simmering over the defeat, did not come to his coach's rescue as quickly. "If he said it's his fault, then it's his fault," Anthony said. If he takes the blame, he takes the blame. As players, we gotta be smart enough to know that as well. Beal's layup was set up by a defensive lapse: Beno Udrih, forced into action following an injury to point guard Pablo Prigioni, had no chance defending the agile Beal on the perimeter on his own. Woodson said Udrih was expecting help to arrive, but Beal did not wait for anything like that. He blew past Udrih and soared to the rim unimpeded. Woodson said the Knicks, with a foul to give, were told not to allow a dribbler to get past them. "He exposed himself so quickly," Woodson said, referring to Udrih, "once the guy got by him, I am not even sure he could grab him." Udrih did not speak to reporters after the game. The scenario was fitting after 48 minutes in which the younger, springier, healthier Wizards made the Knicks look like scarecrows. Here was Washington's backcourt: Beal (21 points), John Wall (20 points) and Martell Webster (30 points off the bench). The Knicks" backcourt, on the other hand, was stung by yet another injury when Prigioni went down early in the third quarter. An X-ray revealed a hairline fracture of his right big toe; he is expected to miss two weeks. Before Monday's game, as he has done often enough already this season, Woodson spent a moment bemoaning the Knicks" early-season injury woes, wondering aloud would could be. There was some optimistic news: center Tyson Chandler, out since early November with a broken leg, could be returning later in the week. But the loss of Prigioni puts the Knicks deeper into jeopardy, especially with Raymond Felton (hamstring) and Kenyon Martin (abdominal strain) also out. Udrih is the only true point guard left on the active roster. The Wizards built a 15-point lead early in the third, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Smith trimmed the differential down to 5. In the first half, Smith heard boos from the crowd after he missed a layup, missed a wide-open 3-pointer in transition and missed his first five shots from the field. But he found some offensive rhythm in the second half and finished with 18 points. The Knicks outscored Washington, 35-22, in the third quarter to regain the lead. But by the fourth, they looked spent. The Wizards took advantage, going on a 13-3 run midway through the quarter to go ahead, 92-85, with 5 minutes 46 seconds remaining. That was with Wall sitting, resting, that luxury that the Knicks can little afford. They looked to Anthony to try to take over as he had done Saturday in his 35-point effort against Atlanta. The defense stepped up and momentarily stopped Washington's offensive momentum. And Smith hit two more clutch 3-pointers, one to bring the Knicks within 1 and the other to give them a 4-point lead with 2:16 remaining. But ahead by 101-100 with 24.2 seconds remaining, the Wizards had the ball and set up their last shot. The ball swung to Beal, who could have used a screen by Marcin Gortat, but instead drove left toward the baseline. His layup fell through with 6.9 seconds left on the clock.