TORONTO — Thankfully for the Knicks, it’s still the preseason.
Andrea Bargnani’s mid-range jumper wasn’t sharp in his second return to Canada and the Knicks dropped a wild 123-120 double-overtime contest to the Raptors Monday after blowing leads in the final ticks of regulation and the first overtime.
The offensive goat was Bargnani, and Ike Diogu was the defensive goat. Bargnani, shrugging off a stiff back, played the first three quarters at AirCanada Centre and shot just 4-of-12 for 13 points — booed whenever he touched the ball and cheered when he missed a shot. He bricked eight of his first nine shots — all from mid-range.
Bargnani was out of the game when the Knicks committed a massive late meltdown. Diogu has had a good preseason in vying for a roster spot, but allowed this night to extend too long.
The Raptors twice tied it with last-second buckets to force the overtimes. Tyler Hansbrough spun past Diogu for a layup to send the game into the first OT. Diogu left Hansbrough inexplicably to chase another player.
“I wish I knew [why],’’ Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. “You don’t switch until the guy gives the ball up.’’
Then Toronto’s Terrence Ross hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to force a second OT — partly because of Diogu and due to what Woodson called “a bad switch’’ by Tim Hardaway Jr. and Tour’e Murry. The Raptors had maintained possession after Diogu lost a rebound out of bounds before Ross nailed the game-tying 3-pointer over a late-arriving Hardaway.
Meawhile, Bargnani’s preseason streak of 21 straight free throws without a miss ended Monday. He finished 5-of-7 from the line and is 23-of-25 overall.
“My preseason streak?’’ said Bargnani, who won’t return to Toronto until Dec. 27. “Hopefully I’ll have a regular-season free-throw streak.’’
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The Knicks will practice Tuesday at Toronto’s Humber College before flying to Green Bay, Wis. — where they will face the Bucks Wednesday — and Amar’e Stoudemire and J.R. Smith may be unleashed to scrimmage for the first time this preseason. Both had workouts Monday and should be cleared. If they scrimmage well, they both could play Friday.
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Metta World Peace lit it up from 3-point range (4-of-5) and finished with 16 points. He also got into a light shoving match with Hansbrough, who backed down when he saw his opponent. … Ex-Knick Steve Novak (sore thumb) didn’t play for the Raptors. … Murry all but solidified a roster spot, hitting a midcourt flip shot at the halftime buzzer and finishing with 12 points. …Center Cole Aldrich was a DNP.