Burke, who played 57 games for the Wizards last season, started his first game with the Knicks and came up with a big three-point play with 35 seconds left that gave New York a 97-95 lead. Burke added a free throw with 18 seconds left, and the Knicks held on for the upset.
It was just New York's fourth win in its past 23 games.
Center Enes Kanter added a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds as the Knicks snapped an eight-game losing streak in their rivalry with the Wizards.
The Wizards, who were led by 14 points from Bradley Beal, are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, but they are just 4-8 in their past 12 games.
Washington, which shot just 42.5 percent, has lost three games in a row.
Knicks forward Lance Thomas, who missed the past two games due to personal issues, returned and had three points and four rebounds. He gave the Knicks frontcourt minutes that were needed due to the absence of Kyle O'Quinn, who missed his first game since suffering a left hip strain.
The Wizards shot 40.9 percent in the first period, making just one three-pointer and missing 2-of-4 free throws. Even so, the Wizards closed the quarter with a 21-19 lead over the Knicks, who were minus-three on turnovers.
New York cut down on its turnovers, from six to three, in the second quarter and took a 61-53 lead into halftime. The Knicks shot 58.5 percent in the first half, including 68 percent in the second quarter. Washington shot just 41.3 percent in the first half.
Washington cut its deficit slightly to 77-71 after three quarters, and the Wizards finally tied the score 88-88 with 4:24 left in the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer by Beal. It was the game's first tie score since the second quarter at 32-32, and it was Beal's first 3-pointer of the contest.
The Wizards then took a 95-94 lead with 68 seconds left on a fade-away jumper by Markieff Morris, but Burke answered with his three-point play, and Washington never got back on top.
--Field Level Media
New York | Washington | |
Trey Burke 19 | Scoring | Bradley Beal 14 |
Emmanuel Mudiay 7 | Assists | Tomas Satoransky 10 |
Enes Kanter 11 | Rebounds | Otto Porter Jr. 10 |
Enes Kanter 4 | Free Throws Made | Ramon Sessions 7 |
Trey Burke 3 | Steals | Tomas Satoransky 3 |
Michael Beasley 2 | Blocks | Markieff Morris 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
New York | 101 | 46.6 | 6-22 | 13-15 | 26 | 44 | 6 | 10 | 15 |
Washington | 97 | 42.5 | 6-19 | 17-23 | 25 | 46 | 7 | 10 | 14 |