MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Bucks withstood a late charge by the Knicks to finally win a game.

Mo Williams made four free throws and Desmond Mason added another in the final 16 seconds to help the Bucks beat the Knicks 106-102 yesterday, snapping their eight game losing streak.

“Our effort just wasn’t there until the last three minutes,” said Stephon Marbury, who finished with 15 points as the Knicks lost their sixth straight.

Michael Redd had 32 points on 11-of-16 shooting. His two free throws and jumper made it 92-79 with 6:34 to play. The Knicks fought back with a 12-2 run as Maurice Taylor converted a three point play with 1:44 to go.

Kurt Thomas added two free throws and a basket to help the Knicks get to 97-91 with 1:04 left. Redd made two free throws, but Thomas hit a 3-pointer from the corner and Marbury put in a layup to bring the Kicks to 99-96 with 28.8 seconds remaining.

After a timeout, Marcus Fizer was fouled and made two free throws with 28.1 seconds left, giving the Bucks a 101-96 margin.

Jamal Crawford hit a 3-pointer for the Knicks, but Williams made four free throws to keep Milwaukee up 105-99 with 10 seconds left. Thomas hit another 3, but Mason made one free throw for the final margin.

Maurice Taylor, who had just two points in the previous two games, finished with 18 points.

“If some of us play hard, and some of us don’t, we are not going to get it done down the stretch,” Taylor said.

Tim Thomas paced the Knicks with 23 points and hit two 3-pointers down the stretch. Knicks coach Herb Williams said if his team gave more effort, the outcome could have been different.

“You can’t do that at the end of the game, or the middle of the game,” he said about playing with tenacity down the stretch. “You come out and play as hard as you can. You can’t give any other effort less than what we gave with the last four or five minutes in the game.”

Mason scored 20 points and Williams had 18 as the Knicks dropped their seventh in the last 11 games to Milwaukee.

“Both teams came in here and needed a win,” Bucks coach Terry Porter said. “I just thought we hung in there a little bit longer and had more guys make plays.”

The game was tied at 54 at halftime, but Williams hit two 3-pointers and a basket, and Redd and Mason each scored six to give the Bucks an 82-73 lead going into the final quarter.

Tim Thomas, traded by Milwaukee as part of a three-team deal with New York on February 14, 2004, was booed before each of his free throws. It was his second trip back to the Bradley Center.

The Bucks took the season series 2-1 after they split the first two games at Madison Squared Garden.