NEW YORK – It is never easy to lose a loved one. And, it’s just as difficult to wade past a sea of people who can only offer their condolences. Then, to play a basketball game, ninety miles away, the following day…only to return home to face that very same team in a 24 hour span.

On Saturday evening, before the start of their contest against the Philadelphia 76ers- in an event billed as Kids’ Day- the organization honored the memory of Donald Marbury Sr. with a brief video on GardenVision.

Then, true to form, the kids took over.

Except that the kids in question were the visitors, as the 76ers once again ran away from their Atlantic Division rivals, 105-77, to win both ends of a home-and-home series.

Stephon Marbury, the sixth of seven children, sincerely thought the best thing for him to do was play in Friday’s eleven point loss at the Wachovia Center. But, it took all of one half –exactly 13:18 of playing time, which included two points and two assists- before he realized that return was one game too soon.

“I’m just drained –emotionally and physically,” he said afterward.

Marbury had known, as early as Friday morning’s practice, that he didn’t want to be in Philadelphia. “It’s just something I’ve got to do. I just want to get back into the swing of things. There’s nothing else I can do now, but remember the good things. I’ve got to continue to stay in my faith, and believe that this will eventually pass.

“He would’ve have wanted me to play. Things happened the way they were supposed to.”

Which, in a nutshell, described New York’s latest loss.

They turned the ball over 18 times, and Philadelphia scored 24 points. The Knicks failed to defend the perimeter, and the 76ers shot 53% [in fact, Philly was so consistent, they shot close to 54% from three-point range, and 54.5% from the free throw line]. New York allowed their guests to penetrate the lane, and watched as 40 points were scored in the paint.

Additionally, the 76ers held a 47-27 advantage on the glass; the Knicks are now 0-13 when they are outshot and outboarded. They have already dropped four sets of back-to-back games.

Willie Green scored 18 points, on eight of ten from the field, to lead Philadelphia. Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young each hit for 17; AI, the 22 year-old star forward, also contributed nine assists, while Young, the youngest kid at 19, made seven-of-nine shots in just 19 minutes. Reggie Evans, an older kid at 27, grabbed 14 rebounds.

This particular game was over early, as the 76ers led by as many as twelve points, 49-37, to end the half; that margin was, briefly, under review, before the officials finally determined that Jamal Crawford’s apparent three-pointer from the right wing was taken with both heels on the end line.

In the first quarter alone, Evans had 10 rebounds, four on the offensive end, while Iguodala [nine points] hit all four of his shots, and Green added four-of-six from the field.

“[These two games] were big,” said Andre Miller, who tallied 11 points and 10 assists. They were confidence-builders.”

If that is true, then the Knicks’ confidence has been thoroughly deflated by the Sixers, who have now won eight of their last nine in head-to-head competition. With the victory, Philadelphia [7-13] has also jumped ahead of New York by one-half game.

“We definitely lost our way a little bit,” Isiah Thomas stated. “I don’t remember having a game where we didn’t have one starter in double figures.”

With that statement, Thomas, too, seemed a little lost. It was just ten days ago, during the 45-point Boston Massacre, that the entire starting five failed to escape single digits. Now, as then, reserve guard Nate Robinson was the high scorer. However, his 25-point performance [all in the second half] was somewhat askew; he missed 11 of 16 shots, including eight-of-eleven from beyond the arc. Robinson did make 12 of 13 from the free throw line.

David Lee posted 11 rebounds, 10 points and three steals in 33 minutes, and Fred Jones added 11 points in approximately the same amount of time.

Marbury, who stranded two dozen reporters by his locker after the game, still has not regained his old form. He hit just one-of-five from the field, and finished with six points and three assists in 24 minutes.

“It’s going to take some time,” said Eddy Curry, “but we just have to fix [what’s wrong]. Curry and Zach Randolph, who have not worked well as a tandem, combined for a grand total of eight points.

With the Dallas Mavericks in on Monday, there is little time to regroup.

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