THE Washington Wizards sealed a dramatic 101-100 win over the New York Knicks at the O2 Arena in London on Thursday night.

The Wizards overturned a 12-point deficit after the third quarter to enjoy victory at the ninth edition of the NBA Global Games series in Britain.

And there was late drama as with his side still trailing by one point with 0.4 seconds left on the clock, the Wizards’ Thomas Bryant attempted a lay-up, but Allonzo Trier blocked it.

However, Trier was adjudged to be goal-tending — meaning the ball was over the cylinder of the net when he blocked it — and two points were awarded to the Wizards after a video review.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said on Thursday that the safety and security of players will always be paramount for the league after New York Knicks centre Enes Kanter did not travel to London for his team’s game against the Washington Wizards.

Kanter said he feared he could be attacked or killed over his opposition to Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan if he were to travel to London. Istanbul-based newspaper Daily Sabah reported that an arrest warrant had been issued for Kanter by Turkish prosecutors on Wednesday.

Silver said NBA officials never suggested that Kanter skip the game but could understand why he chose not to travel.

“There are significant issues that he is dealing with, and I recognise that for the NBA, by virtue of the fact that we’re a global business, we have to pay a lot of attention to those issues as well,” Silver said. 

“I support Enes, a player in this league, and I support the platform that our players have to speak out on issues that are important to them.”