UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) _ Chris Whitney bounced a 3-pointer high off the back rim and through the hoop with 2.4 seconds left to give the Washington Wizards an 87-86 exhibition victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.

Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy ripped his team afterward, saying they were more interested in the World Series than they were in properly preparing for the season.

``If any team deserved to lose, we did,'' Van Gundy said. ``I don't like where we're heading. Some of the guys are ill-prepared for the season.''

Mitch Richmond scored 17, Jahidi White 16 and Juwan Howard and Richard Hamilton 13 each for Washington. Michael Smith and White each grabbed 12 rebounds for the Wizards, who outrebounded New York 45-32. The Knicks grabbed just five offensive rebounds, two of which came in the final minute.

Latrell Sprewell arrived just a half-hour before tipoff and was held out of the starting lineup. He scored 23 points, all in the second and third quarters.

``I got lost. Took a couple of wrong turns,'' Sprewell said. ``I really didn't think I'd make it on time.''

Allan Houston added 13 points for New York but shot just 2-for-12 from the field. Larry Johnson added 10 points, including a turnaround jumper from the corner over Howard that gave the Knicks an 86-84 lead with 6.1 seconds left.

After a timeout, Whitney took the inbounds pass and immediately shot the ball. The shot appeared to bounce off the shot clock, but no violation was called. Houston missed a long jumper for the Knicks just before the final buzzer.

New York general manager Scott Layden said the Knicks would begin pursuing Joe Smith, who became a free agent Wednesday when commissioner David Stern voided his current contract with Minnesota.

``If he knows we're interested, he'll be willing to come,'' said Sprewell, who remains friends with Smith from their days playing together in Golden State.