TORONTO -- Larry Johnson had no trouble picking a nickname for the shot of the game, a 3-pointer that banked in off the backboard from a nearly straight-away angle.
"The lucky one," he called it.Johnson's 3-pointer with 24.2 seconds left Sunday led the Knicks to an 87-80 victory over the Toronto Raptors in the first NBA playoff game in Canada.
New York completed a three-game sweep to advance to the second round against its bitterest rival -- the Miami Heat.
"Definitely, the gods were with me," Johnson said. "I didn't call a bank on that one."
The Knicks and Heat will meet in the playoffs for the fourth straight season. This time, both teams are coming off 3-0 first-round victories.
"It's going to be a war going up against with those guys," Johnson said. "My four years here we've played them four times in the playoffs, and we're looking forward to this challenge."
The Knicks had to work hard for this one, just as they did in the first two games of the series, and the difference came down to which team could make the right decisions and sink the key shots in the final minute.
Allan Houston, who led New York with 23 points, made the first one when he sank a 21-foot jumper with 44 seconds left for an 82-78 lead. After two foul shots by Antonio Davis, Johnson's 3-pointer slammed off the backboard and went right through the net without touching the rim.
"I said to him: Did you call glass? And he said no," Toronto's Vince Carter said. "That's tough to swallow that shot. That's a shot you make in H-O-R-S-E. He makes that shot at a crucial point in the game, it's tough to come back from."
Upon making the shot, Johnson pointed his fist at his right elbow -- his "Big L" gesture that has returned to fashion after a one-year absence. Only this time, the "L" might just as well have stood for "Lucky" than "Larry."
"I thought it was good when I let it go," Johnson said. "It hit the glass and went in. I'll take it. I'll take it."
Carter and Dee Brown missed shots on Toronto's next possession, and Chris Childs locked up the victory by making two foul shots with 11.8 seconds left.
As the final eight seconds ticked off the clock, the Raptors hung their heads and gave up.
Carter had another below-par game, scoring 15 points on 5-for-17 shooting. He tossed his sneakers into the stands after the buzzer.
The Knicks aggressively double-teamed Carter in the final minutes, even sending two men out to guard him at halfcourt when he brought the ball up.