For now, however, it’s all about Tracy McGrady –or, more specifically, his surgically-repaired left knee- and how much he can actually contribute over the Knicks final 29 games of the season.

Whatever the 6’8” swingman can give the New York for the duration will certainly be much more than he added to the Houston Rockets.  In a grand total of six games, none of which McGrady started, he averaged 3.2 points and 1 assist in less than eight minutes.  Clearly, the Rockets’ loss instantly turned into the Knicks’ gain.  Nineteen first-half points [and 26 overall] against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Saturday night’s 121-118 overtime loss, were enough to convince observers that, while not quite 100%, T-Mac still has considerable game left.

“With Tracy coming in, we knew there was going to be a lot of energy in the building,” Kevin Durant said after scoring 36 points to extend his consecutive game streak of 25-plus points to 27.  “He was phenomenal.  He’s back.  But, I’ll take the win.”

So, while Sergio Rodriguez, formerly of Sacramento, and Eddie House, who arrived from Boston in the Nate Robinson deal, could be nice fits to the puzzle, the trade for McGrady is looked upon as New York’s most significant in quite some time.

“Tracy has been one of the premier players in our league over the past decade,” Donnie Walsh, the Knicks president, said.  “We have every indication that he is healthy and committed to re-establishing himself as one of the best in our game.”

Walsh and head coach Mike D’Antoni haven’t been here that much longer.  As Walsh continues to rebuild, D’Antoni attempts to mix and match whatever assorted pieces are given to him.  By virtue of Walsh’s success to move the bloated contracts of Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph last year, and Jerome James and Jared Jefferies this season, New York is very much in play for a lively off-season.

“Mike’s losses [which now number 84 in 135 games] don’t just count against him,” Walsh clarified.  “They count against my record, too.”

McGrady, 30, who has career averages of 21.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists with three teams, is on the books for $23 million.  There’s also the question of his expiring contract, which he wouldn’t mind converting into one that is more team-friendly.

“I’ve made a lot of money in my career,” he confirmed.  “I could retire right now, and be fine financially. So, money is not an issue. [If] they want to bring in LeBron and D-Wade, along with Chris Bosh or Amar’e Stoudemire, I’d be a damn fool not to want to stay here.

“I would definitely embrace the opportunity where money is not an issue.”

Thus, it would not be a stretch for him to accept a midlevel [$5.9 million] or, perhaps, a biannual [$1.9 million] exception for the privilege to play alongside any combination of the two.

After the 29 games are over and, assuming the Knicks’ season ends at that point, July 1 will represent the next important date on the team calendar.  But, that is then; this is now.

In other words, any thoughts of James or Wade and, to a lesser extent, Bosh will have to wait.  The present team, which also comprises All-Star David Lee, among others, may need some time to become acquainted.  In fact, because of trade deadline activity, there were just eight of 15 player photos on the wall outside the New York lockerroom.

But, while the wall suggested an empty feeling, the Knicks’ cup, at the moment, is very, very fill.

He hopes that Nate Robinson can keep playing the way his coach needs his diminutive but quick and energy-filled guard to play in order for the Knicks to win games.

So, in the spirit of that vision, it was somewhat fitting that Robinson continued to give the Knicks exactly what D’Antoni has been seeking from him lately, during this year’s edition of the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Day matinee at Madison Square Garden on Monday.

Though Dr. King’s legacy is of course far more important than basketball, Knick fans nonetheless, thoroughly enjoyed watching Robinson score a game-high 27 points to lead the Knicks (17-24) to a 99-91 victory over the Detroit Pistons (14-26) in the second game of a home-and-home set.

After weathering an extended visit to D’Antoni’s doghouse that benched him for all but 10 minutes in the month of December, including the final 14 games of the month, Robinson has returned in January to average 15.9 points per game.

“I thought he played well,” D’Antoni said of Robinson, who shot 11 of 18 from the floor, including 5 of 9 from three-point range in 33 minutes off the bench. “There are times that he’s not a natural point guard, and we’re trying to throw him over into that role, so it’s not easy for him, but as long as he keeps his energy up and focus, we can kind of work around it.”

Though it was Robinson’s offense which carried the Knicks, it’s the less noticeable things that show up in the boxscore, and even the intangibles that don’t, which are keeping Robinson in the lineup of late, and the Knicks’ biggest spark off the bench is well aware of that fact.

“I’m just trying to show everybody that I can do more than just score,” Robinson said. “I’m hustling and doing everything I can to help this team win.”

Robinson knows his increased playing time is for now, conditional upon things such as the solid defense he played while dishing out four assists and committing just one turnover against the Pistons, and he seems to have received the message.

“If I wait another 14 games,” Robinson said, “I’m going to have to wait until my number’s called again… you gotta be patient and wait your turn.”

D’Antoni however, also recognizes Robinson’s value when he’s playing the brand of basketball that the coach has preached to his point guard.

“He gives us something we need and that’s athleticism,” D’Antoni said. “We have to have everything else. We have to have the defense [from him] and the sound play, but he does give us something that we need.”

And, Robinson provided just that, beginning in the second quarter, after the Knicks fell behind at the start, caught up, and then had trouble pulling away against the short-handed Pistons, who were without leading scorer Richard Hamilton as well as three of their next five leading scorers (Ben Gordon, Wil Bynum, and Tayshaun Prince).

Detroit opened with a 9-1 lead as it took the Knicks 3:35 to score (on a free throw by forward Jared Jeffries) and 4:07 before New York made its first field goal, on a jumper by Wilson Chandler.

That shot ignited a 12-0 run during which Chandler scored nine points, to give the Knicks a 13-9 lead. He finished the period with 11 points on 5 of 6 shooting from the floor, but he went just 2-for-6 from the field the rest of the game, failing to score in the second half, while finishing with 17 points (although he contributed defensively, as the only player with multiple blocked shots, with four).

Detroit’s three leading scorers (Rodney Stuckey, Ben Wallace, and Austin Day) were the only players to score for the Pistons in the opening quarter, which ended in a 23-all tie.

Stuckey and Wallace each had 10 first-quarter points, with Wallace scoring his 10 points consecutively, after the Knicks’ 12-0 run, to keep the game tied at 19.

Forward Charlie Villanueva scored 10 of his 16 points off the bench in second quarter, but that was half of his team’s total in a period in which New York outscored Detroit 34-20, to take a 53-47 halftime lead, thanks mostly, to 13 second-quarter points from Robinson, who didn’t hesitate when shots were available.

“My teammates and my coach told me I have to be aggressive,” Robinson said. “That’s just who I am. They [felt] the last couple games, I hadn’t been that aggressive. They told me, just be yourself.”

Robinson, who on Sunday, agreed to return to defend last year’s slam dunk title at this year’s NBA all-star weekend in Dallas on February 13th, electrified the crowd, when he moved along the left baseline unguarded, and took a long lob pass from guard Chris Duhon for a nice alley oop dunk with 54.8 seconds left in the half.

The high-flying guard considers it an honor to be mentioned as a slam dunk title winner after admitting he marveled at past winners such as Spud Webb and Dominique Wilkins.

Still, he tempers his excitement to compete for an unprecedented third slam dunk title while realizing that such flashiness isn’t what will help him become a more complete player.

“The dunk contest, it’s all fun and games,” he said. “Hopefully, I can be the first one to win three… [but] if I don’t win it, it’ll be good, I [won’t] have to go back no more. I’m an all-around player… but it’s pretty cool to be labeled as one of the best dunkers ever.”

After the game, Robinson yelled across the Knicks’ locker room to forward Danilo Gallinari, who despite being one of the league’s best three-point shooter, will not participate in the all-star weekend’s three-point shootout.

Robinson asked Gallinari to help him with his dunks in Dallas, but Gallinari plans to go nowhere near the all-star festivities. Gallinari responded to the request with a nervous, wide smile while quickly shaking his head ‘no,’ prompting laughs from reporters.

That won’t stop Robinson from trying though. “He don’t wanna go,” Robinson said. “He wants to on vacation and relax with his family. I don’t blame him… I’m gonna make him go.”

All of the good that the Knicks did in the first half was undone in an awful third quarter, as New York scored a season low while being outscored 27-11.

A nice stutter-step dribble drive by Robinson, who double clutched in the lane with two seconds left in the quarter prevented the Knicks from being held to single digits in the period just after Detroit matched its largest lead of the game, 70-66.

Forward David Lee (who was held eight points below his average of 19 points per game) grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds, 11 in the first half, as the Knicks outrebounded the Pistons 27-19 in the opening two quarters.

The rebounding battle was a completely different story in the second half, and especially the third quarter however, as the Pistons simply began to outwork the Knicks to seemingly every loose ball while beating New York to a lot of rebounds on the Knicks’ backboard.

Detroit outrebounded New York 12-3 in the third quarter and 46-39 for the game, including 19-7 on the offensive glass.

Wallace had five (three offensive) of his team-high 14 rebounds to go along with four points in the period. Meanwhile, Stuckey and Daye added six points and forward Jason Maxiell led all scorers in the quarter, scoring 7 of his 13 in the quarter.

With so many key players out of the lineup, a lot of Piston players scored more than they had in a while.

Stuckey led Detroit with 22 points, the most he’s scored this month, since scoring the same amount in a new year’s eve loss to Chicago.

Wallace scored a season-high 16 points, the most he scored since he had 19 in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on March 20, 2007.

Detroit’s pair of 2005 first-round draft picks also had much bigger days than normal. Daye, who entered the game averaging just 13 minutes and 4.8 points per game, played 32 minutes and made the most of his opportunity with a career-high 16 points, while Maxiell scored the most since scoring the same amount in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on November 17th.

The Knicks rallied back in the final quarter though, led by Robinson, who scored eight points in the fourth period.

Robinson started the quarter by making a steal and finishing with a layup at the other end to tie the game, 70-70.

On the next possession, Robinson made a beautiful pass under the basket to forward Al Harrington (17 points, one of five players on each team who scored in double figures), who made two free throws after a flagrant foul, to put the Knicks up for good, 72-70, with 11:06 left in the game.

After a Harrington three-pointer put the Knicks ahead 78-74, Gallinari scored New York’s next seven points, making a left corner three-pointer, a step back right corner jumper off the dribble, and a driving dunk from the left corner after faking a three, to give the Knicks an 85-76 lead, forcing a Detroit timeout with 6:47 left.

With 5:46 remaining, Robinson buried a 26-foot three-pointer, to put the Knicks up 88-78, and the Pistons would get no closer than 92-87 on a Maxiell jumper with 1:10 left.

“I think we were a little sluggish,” Robinson said. “We went back to being tense instead of just being relaxed. I think the fourth quarter, we just relaxed and we just found a way to have fun and play together.”

The Knicks have hosted afternoon games on Martin Luther King Day ever since 1986, when they lost to Philadelphia. They won the next nine (1987-1995) and 13 of 14, before losing three of five. However, the win on Monday was their third MLK Day win in four years, improving the Knicks to 18-6 all-time on the holiday, and it also avenged a 94-90 loss in Detroit on Saturday.

More importantly, the Knicks have gone 14-10 since a 3-14 start, to pull within two games of Chicago (18-21) for the Eastern conference’s final playoff spot, at the season’s halfway point.

D’Antoni is happy with the Knicks’ recent progress, but knows his team still has much work to do to improve further.

“Since we settled down a little bit, we’re kind of in the mode that we should be,” he said. “We’re playing well, [but] a little uneven in the last five games, not great mental energy… whether it’s humanly possible or not to be up all the time, I don’t know, but we need to be able to do that, especially.”

In terms of providing that energy and more, as long as Robinson does the other things which D’Antoni and the rest of the Knicks’ coaching staff asks of him, he should remain a very welcome piece of the Knicks’ lineup during the second half of the season.

It might have been a harbinger of things to come when the Garden public address announcer introduced Bargnani as being from Spain, a country a little bit to the north and east of Italy but as disjointed and unfortunate as the misplacing of Bargnani’s homeland might have been, it didn’t compare to the first half of basketball the Knicks played.

Toronto shot 53 percent and opened a 28-point lead that was eventually cut down to eight early in the fourth quarter before Calderon made consecutive jumpers and Hedo Turkoglu knocked down another to push it back to 14.

“First, you have to give them credit, they shot the living daylights out of us,” said Knicks coach, Mike D’Antoni. “Bargnani had an unbelievable first half. Having said that, we started off cold. We’re missing open shots, lay-ups, and everything. It took us awhile to get into it.

The game was televised live at 2 a.m. in Italy, home of the 2004 Olympic basketball silver medalists. Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni was a star player and championship-winning coach in Italy.

“I’m just really happy to see a lot of Italian players playing in the league and I think there will be more,” D’Antoni said before the game. “It’s fun and obviously it conjures a lot of great memories that I had.”

Andrea Bargnani had 24 points and 12 rebounds, helping the Toronto Raptors get off to a sizzling start in a 112-104 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.

Jose Calderon matched a season high with 21 points, rookie DeMar DeRozan scored 19 and Chris Bosh had 18 for the Raptors, who bounced back from consecutive losses and got back to .500 at 20-20. Bargnani hurt the Knicks inside and out, making five 3-pointers and shooting 9 of 13 from the field.

Al Harrington scored 31 points, Danilo Gallinari had 26 and David Lee finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for the Knicks.

The Raptors made six of their first eight shots, then extended the lead to 24-8 after Bargnani drove down the lane for a powerful dunk that brought Toronto’s bench players leaping to their feet in celebration. Apparently annoyed, Lee threw one down about a minute later and jumped up and down right in Bargnani’s face, bumping into him and drawing a technical foul.

Toronto led 39-20 after one and kept right on rolling in the second, making 17 of its first 27 shots. The lead ballooned to 56-28 on Calderon’s 3-pointer with 5:57 left in the half and the Raptors were up 67-43 at the break after shooting 59 percent.

The Knicks got back into it in the third behind 12 points from Harrington, whose 3-pointer cut it to 89-80 with 32 seconds remaining before DeRozan scored the final four points of the period.

Read more of Scott at www.sportsreporters.com.

Last night’s game against the Islanders was a call to arms for the Rangers. Are they are a team or are they just a collection of overpaid veterans just looking to collect their check?

After benching Wade Redden and Ales Kotalik, the Rangers responded and thanks to an ill advised Islander starting of a very tired Dwayne Roloson, who gave up three goals on the Rangers first five shots in their eventual 5-2 win.

“I think, collectively, as a team, we responded well and everybody realized what they had to do,” right wing Ryan Callahan, who scored two goals in the match, said. “I think it’s a little bit of both. Obviously, Hank is the backbone of this team and he made some key saves.”

Lundqvist made sure the Rangers had a chance as he stopped the Islander onslaught during the first 10 minutes of the game when the Isles outshot the Rangers 10-1. Being up for the challenge, Lundqvist kept the Rangers in the match as his teammates got their legs.

“It’s happened a lot of times in this building,” Lundqvist said. “They come out flying and we have a tough time settling in. It was important for me personally and for the team to stay in there. I don’t know how we had the lead after the first period, but we did.”

But a win is a win and the Rangers will now move forward with maybe with a new found lease on life. There’s no word on Redden and Kotalik, both of who sat in the press box for the match. After a shouting match between the defenseman and coach John Tortorella, Redden was worked out by assistant coach Mike Sullivan and then expressed his displeasure to the media.

“Not real pleased about it, honestly,” Redden said.  “To be singled out – I know the team’s going through struggles and everyone’s got to be better.  The fact that I’m sitting out – I mean, I’m not real happy about it.”

Redden acted like he was losing money here, but let’s remember his $39 million contract will still be paid even if he’s sitting on the bench. And for him to be “singled out” is a joke, because he’s been playing this way for a year and a half.

Yet, you have to blame Sather for that signing, yet he will still get paid as well. Even though some morning show commentators were saying he was set to get canned, the Rangers president’s job is safe for now.

And you can look for Tortorella to go as well, but at least the coach has abandoned his old offense first mantra and started to do some neutral zone trapping over the past two weeks.

So, all is well for one night at least as the Rangers try to save the season. But is this just one night or a start of something big?

We will soon find out.

Except the Garden was half full Wednesday evening, and again for the finals Friday afternoon, 13, 179, which in someway diminished the intensity of what is seen in April. Perhaps the Thanksgiving Day holiday had something to do with it. The faithful who came from Arizona and Louisiana, (LSU) took a four day holiday break and watched basketball in between.

Duke would defeat UConn 68-59 taking the championship Friday. When it comes to their fan base, Duke enjoys coming to the Garden with plenty of alumni residing in the vicinity of New York City.  UConn is almost up the road in Storrs Connecticut and Madison Square Garden is familiar territory as a member of the Big East Conference.

So there they were the seventh ranked Duke Blue Devils and their storied history with Coach Mike Kryzewski in his 30^th year.  Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun envisions his Huskies to make a second consecutive trip to the Final Four come April in Indianapolis. Two Hall of Fame coaches with over 800 career wins on opposite benches, a first for an NCAA Division 1 game.

“Duke physically handled us the physical presence,” said Calhoun. “Obviously the rebounding was in my opinion a major problem with the game.” His Huskies were manned off the boards, Duke got 25 offensive rebounds, and they failed to convert a three-point shot.  Despite the disappointing outcome Calhoun thought his team did what they had to do.

“Duke played with a great deal of heart and toughness. I think we were better than we played.  I think we have to respond when we get knocked inside a little bit. We have to do a better job,’ he said.  It was the third time his Huskies have been in the Tip- Off where they have failed to come home with the title.

The predominant Huskie crowd at the Garden saw Duke go on a 16-6 run and lead by nine points at the half. After that, there was that typical talk from Calhoun to his players with hopes of getting back in the game. They would make a brief run of it in the second half, but in the end it was all Duke (6-0), and showing this early in the college basketball season that they could be the team returning to the Final Four.

“Open shots were hard to come by,” commented Krzyzewski. “We haven’t experienced a team like that this year.  We missed 53 shots and got 56 rebounds. We didn’t give up a three today.  We played against two different types of teams and two teams that I think are going to be in contention in their conference,” said Kryzewski who got win 839 of his career as Duke won their fourth overall Tip-Off championship led by tournament Most Valuable Player Scheyer who scored 19 points. Duke has now won five straight at the Garden and 12 of their last 13 at the famous arena.  Wednesday evening the Blue Devils defeated Arizona State 64-53 to reach the championship game.

Earlier, Arizona State (5-1) took third place in the consolation game with a 71-52 win over LSU. It was a second half effort by the Sun Devils who forced the Tigers (3-2) to miss 15 of their first 17 shots opening the second half. Derek Glasser scored a career high 24 points for the Devils and Eric Boateng added 17.

“We had a very good defensive effort in the second half,” commented Sun Devils coach Herb Sendek. He added, “At the same time, with that type of run to occur they missed some shots that in the first half they were knocking down. We were much better in the second half and our defense allowed us to get in the game and get the win.”

This was the first time Arizona State has participated in the NIT Tip- Off and the coach strongly believes the tough competition this early in the season will only help. “We tried to participate in an event like this every year,’ he said.  “It’s always extra special coming to New York and playing at the Garden.”

It’s a wonderful experience for a team.  And I think anytime you play against outstanding competition like we did this week there is always a lot there to learn.  And so we’ll continue to watch the tapes and take all these experiences and try to build on them,”

The senior Glasser who earned Pac-10 Al Tournament honors, by averaging 13.7 points in the first three games of the season said “I think overall it was a good experience for us.  Especially  to play a team like Duke. Just to see where we are as a team.”

e-mail Rich Mancuso:  Ring786@aol.com

They had a terrific opportunity to get back on the winning track tonight. All of the winds were blowing in the right direction. They were at home, in front of a sold-out Madison Square Garden, with a struggling, defensively-challenged Golden State Warriors coming in with a 2-5 record.

So, what happened? More of the same play that has seen the Knicks spiraling into the NBA abyss. Uninspired, unintelligent basketball is what the Knicks gave their fans tonight as the Warriors handily defeated the hapless home team, 121-107. The New Yorkers fell to 1-9, the absolute worst start in the history of this franchise. That’s a mouthful….the worst start to a season in the 63-year history of the New York Knickerbockers.

The Warriors played only seven guys any significant minutes tonight and five of those scored in double figures. They had four players with 22 or more -  Steven Jackson with 23, Kelenna Azubuike had 22, Monta Ellis with 22, and Corey Maggette had 22.  C.J. Watson came off the bench to hit for 19 as the Knicks looked like stationary characters on the court next to the higher-flying, more athletic Warriors, who are probably one of the worst teams in the NBA.

This theme of the Knicks being out of their class athletically is becoming a nightly event but there was a different wrinkle to the beating they took tonight.

In his most damaging comments of his team’s lack of heart, a character assassination if there was one, Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni didn’t hold back.

“I thought our lack of fight was the most disappointing thing,” he said. “It’s bad, there’s no doubt about it. We’ve got three days off. We’ll practice hard and we’ll try to figure out something better, and let’s see who wants to come forward.”

D’Antoni is beginning to take on that look of bewilderment we’ve often seen here in New York City from other Knicks players and coaches over the many years of losing this franchise has encountered. He doesn’t seem to have an answer.

“The thing is, we are small but that doesn’t excuse us for people going by us,” he said. “We can’t be slow and small and also, not have fight. Those are not good combinations and that’s where we are now.”

Indeed, this roster, as currently comprised, appears not to be a good combination.

Danilo Gallinari had 19 points and 10 rebounds in his first career double-double for the Knicks, who dropped their sixth straight and fell to 1-9. David Lee scored 17 points and former Warriors forward Al Harrington had 16.

This was a matchup of teams that not only aren’t known for their defensive prowess, they actually live up to their reputations of playing undisciplined, playground-style basketball.

“The game was two teams that actually matched up pretty well against each other, played the same style,” Warriors coach Don Nelson said. “Probably the team that was going to shoot the basketball was going to win and that was us.”

The Knicks continued to display no resistance on the defensive end of the court.

“We knew there was no shot blockers in there,” Ellis said. “Our game plan was to attack the basket, move the ball two times and we would have open shots, and that’s what we did.”

They did it with such ease, one Knick fan was heard screaming, “Bring back Eddy Curry.” Obviously, that fan hasn’t seen Curry play defense.

On the Knicks lack of defensive prowess, even the rookie guard, Toney Douglas could chime in like an old veteran who’s lost too many games in his career. It’s getting scary how he’s learned the rhythm and tenor of a losing team’s post-game locker room in this, after just 10 games.

“Problem is communication,” voiced Douglas. “At the end of the day, they just played harder than us. We didn’t rotate and we weren’t in the right spots at times. Miscommunication and that type of stuff comes back to haunt you at the end of the day.”

One of the biggest culprits in this streak of terrible basketball has been Chris Duhon, the point guard D’Antoni had been counting on to be a leader and the glue to help his young team through the early stages of this season.

“It’s not where we expected or envisioned we’d be,” said Duhon. “We know we’re a much better team than that. It just comes down to us competing and fighting, myself included. I’m probably the main culprit. I try not to worry about it. We just need to go out there and compete and see what happens. And, we’re not doing that right now.”

Another comment from a team veteran about his team not competing. It can’t get any worse than that for a professional sports club, and this is Duhon’s second attack of this still-young season on the character of this roster.

David Lee, usually a calm and collected post-game interview, is feeling the anger.

“This is not good at all, it is very frustrating for us,” he said. “Like Toney just said, we need to continue to play harder and get better and at this point, we’re not where we need to be. We need to figure out where we are going wrong and fix it. If we continue playing the way we’re playing now, it is obviously just not working. Today, Golden State at home, is a game we should win.”

Truer words were never spoken.

Read more of Scott at Sportsreporters.com.

The Knicks were better off last season.

It was easy to be a Knick in 2008-09. No one expected any major improvements and when something went wrong, there was always the newly departed Isiah Thomas to blame. And when that got old, Stephon Marbury was earning $22 million not to play, so he was an easy scapegoat as well.

Yes, life was easy for newly crowned Donnie Walsh and his handpicked coach Mike D’Antoni, since no one expected anything from the Knicks. And outside of a sexual harassment suit by Walsh or D’Antoni publicly ripping James Dolan, the Honeymoon on 33rd never seemed to have an end.

But nine games into this season with only one win to show for it, it’s safe to say the honeymoon is over.

This Knick team is awful. They can’t shoot. They can’t defend. Opposing teams are faster, stronger, and more athletic. It’s almost like the rest of the NBA had bionic implants leaving the Knicks behind.

And here’s the kicker, the Knicks actually believed they had a chance to be a good team this season and even compete for a …gasp…playoff spot.

“That’s the most frustrating thing is that I came into the season with high hopes and I still have them,” said forward David Lee. “I still have them, because the chemistry and the character on the team is as good as its been. Guys are putting in the work and unfortunately it’s not corresponding into victories on the court.”

So this is now ’Gar-barge” time on Broadway just nine games in. Tonight D’Antoni presented a starting lineup of Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Lee, Toney Douglas, and Duhon, with all the high priced veterans sitting on the bench. Believe it or not, the coach was right, this gave the Knicks their best chance to win, in their eventual 114-101 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

Although Al Harrington had 23 points off the bench, he missed two fast breaks by being too cute on the court. Jared Jeffries continues to steal his Cablevision salary, while Darko Mikicic didn’t even see the light of day.

It was as if D’Antoni was sending a message to his veterans to shape up and quick or he will ship them out.

“I want to play,” said Larry Hughes, whose tear drop tattoos under his left eye explains why he’s a Knick. “I want to come out and contribute and try to do the best I can do to help this team along.”

That’s fine but his 14 was better of coming from the bench. As would Duhon’s goose egg of a night, but D’Antoni has no one else to play at guard with Nate Robinson hurt.

In fact, the only thing worth watching at this game was Douglas, who continues to impress with 23 points on the night.

“For a point guard, he‘s going to have to grow a lot,” said D’Antoni. “He’s playing with a lot of enthusiasm. He does hit baskets. In order to be a point guard, run your team and control the tempo, and all that, he’s got some learning to do.”

That means another year or tough basketball on 33rd Street. Maybe it will end with Lebron James coming to New York in the offseason, but that would be the only real reward worth waiting for at MSG.

And if James doesn’t come to the Garden, then the spotlight will go on Walsh and D’Antoni as there will be no scapegoat for them to point at anymore.

It was very obvious the moment King James set foot on the Madison Square Garden for his first and only visit this year, MSG is really where he wants to be. From the very first quarter, LeBron went out of his way have his own victory parade on his own. He started out a first quarter the way Michael Jordan started out his own first in the infamous “Double Nickel” back in 1995.

“LeBron’s first eight minutes were ridiculous,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “A freight train coming at you.”

The Knicks could have had six men on the court and they were not going to stop LeBron’s special night. Normally not a great jump shooter, James was fading away and hitting wet jumpers that would make Larry Bird proud. There was no other way to say it but LeBron was in the “zone”! He would score 19 first quarter points and also contribute six assists.  James capped the quarter by faking out Jared Jeffries at the perimeter and drained a three pointer that everyone in the building knew it was going in.

Could it have been more ironic that LeBron’s favorite baseball, the Yankees, were sitting courtside still feeling the high of their World Series victory. Right after the first quarter ended, the Garden acknowledged the presence of  Alex Rodriguez, C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, Joba Chamberlain, Melky Cabrera, and Robinson Cano. As they made their way to center court to wave to the adoring New York crowd, who do you think was among the crowd who gave the Yankees a standing ovation?  Of course, none other King Janes who had as a big smile as a little kid at the candy store. He would not have wanted to be any other place in the world than Madison Square Garden on Friday night.

He was swishing jumpers, driving to the basket like a monster, and providing his teammates with the most beautiful no look passes you will ever see. As he sat down for the first half of the second quarter, LeBron was celebrating anytime his team scored a basket. He was dancing to any hip hop song that came on and was seen talking to many friends in the crowd. It’s nice to be the King, ain’t it?

This night was not about the pathetic Knicks who were easily defeated by Cleveland 100-91. It’s about the dream scenario about what would happen if New York ever had the NBA’s best player. As great as Partick Ewing was for his career, he was near at the top as one of the top players in the NBA. LeBron would easily take the cake as the greatest player ever to put on a Knicks uniform.

If that was not enough, LeBron went out of his way to talk to Knicks second year forward, Daniilo Gallinari. Gallinari, who never met James before, has shown flashes of brilliance so far this season that has caught the attention of James. He scored 17 points last night and has made Donnie Walsh look pretty good in making him the 6th pick in the 2008 draft.

“He just told me to keep working hard and keep taking care of my back with stretching,” Gallinari said. “He’s a great guy, great person. We talked before the game and after the game.”

It’s a pretty good indication that New York is in his radar because Danillo could be that guy LeBron needs to win a title in New York . To have never talked to the young Gallinari before last night can only be a good thing for Donnie Walsh.

But first things first, the fans still have 76 more games to go before this looming nightmare Knicks season is over. But the dream is not far from reality!

In tonight’s loss to the Utah Jazz, by a final score of 95-93, the Knicks may just have found a sparkplug on their roster who can become a part of the team’s future. It certainly looks like they’ve found a player who has blasted himself into the regular rotation, that’s for sure.

Welcome to the coming out party of Toney Douglas, number 23 in your program but possibly, number one in coach Mike D’Antoni’s head and heart. Douglas, the Knicks first round draft choice from Florida State, scored a career-high 21 points in just 23 minutes off the bench. Coming off of a 16 point performance in his previous game against the Milwaukee Bucks, it looks like the 6’2” guard, drafted as a high-energy type player with good defensive instincts and a nose for the basketball, is quickly developing a creative, little offensive game, something the Knicks need badly from their point guard position.

D’Antoni was impressed with the rookie.

“I thought he played really well,” he said. “I thought his speed, athleticism, and tenacity on defense really picked us up. It’s funny, he kind of broke the dam and everybody else was following him trying to make their shots. Toney gave us a nice spark.”

There were still enough bad things to continue to worry D’Antoni that this season can spiral out of control before it hits the quarter mark in games played. His team scored a season-low 31 points in the first half. It’s the first time since 2002-03 they’ve begun a season with a 1-7 record. Tonight, despite the close final score, they never led once, suffering their first wire-to-wire loss of this season. They trailed tonight by as many as 21 points in the third quarter, then closed the gap to a point midway through the fourth quarter before losing the game, as their record fell to 1-7. So, life isn’t all good here in Knicks land.

The Garden was rocking out last night when Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played their greatest hits for three and half hours in front of their devoted fans. In the first half tonight, the Knicks rocked out in a different way, when they essentially shot rocks for all of the first 24 minutes of this game.

The first quarter started out like other first quarters this season, with Knicks allowing open looks to Utah for easy jump shots and layups inside. The Knicks were fortunate to keep the score to 25-18 but you had to know D’Antoni, after looking at the horrible starts his team has had in most of its games this season, wanted to come out fast and not fall behind. It was not to happen.

The second quarter was more of the same. The Knicks continued to allow Utah uncontested shots on almost every possession, inside and outside. It almost seemed like the Jazz could get shots at will as All-Star point guard Deron Williams penetrated and dished with ease to wide open shooters, especially Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur. The Knicks stayed in the game, somewhat, with an occasional three-pointer or a fast-break layup but with two minutes to go in the half, Utah had spread its lead to 12, 43-21, as boos began to trickle down from the Knick faithful.

Utah wasn’t finished. Carlos Boozer hit a layup (uncontested, of course) to make it 48-31 at the half as the boos went into full mode. The Knicks, the team with the wide-open offensive sets and the acclaimed offensive coach, had scored 31 points in the half against a team that is not known for its defensive skills.

Danilo Gallinari looked lost on defense guarding Kirilenko, who was allowed to shoot freely from three point land, hitting 5 of 8 for the game. Gallinari’s minutes were limited in the second half as D’Antoni felt his best perimeter defenders were Douglas and Larry Hughes.

“Toney and Larry out front were causing problems for Utah,” said D’Antoni. “We’ll probably use this going forward. Basically, you still have to defend a man.”

Yes, this coach was talking defense after a game. Maybe, he really does coach it.

For the half, the Knicks shot just 35% from the field, including an unbelievable 0.0% (0 for 10) from three-point land. Meanwhile, the Jazz were hitting at a 48% clip (21 of 44) from the floor including 3 of 7 from the three-point stripe. The Jazz also dominated the Knicks on the boards to the tune of 31 to 20. Despite all the Knicks misses, they only retrieved one offensive rebound during the first 24 minutes, truly an unbelievable statistic.

Chris Duhon continued his struggles. In 18 minutes, he scored just two points on just two foul shots. He had no assists and two turnovers. It seemed time for a change at the point guard position.

Enter the youngster, Douglas, who had his coming out party for the home crowd tonight. He played almost 16 minutes in the second half, shooting 6 of 9 and 3 of 5 on three point shots, scoring 15 points in the half. He played with poise and with control, taking shots that were not forced and dishing to open Knicks when the opportunity came his way.

The Knicks mounted their patented last quarter comeback, outscoring the Jazz 29-17 in that final period. Douglas tied the game at 93-93 with two consecutive layups. But Mehmet Okur of the Jazz followed Deron Williams’s missed shot with an offensive rebound and laid the ball in. The Knicks regained possession with 6.4 seconds remaining, but Douglas’s 10-foot jumper at the buzzer missed it’s mark and that was the game.

“All I do is try to come in with energy and focus on defense,” said Douglas. “Coach said if the shot is there, to take it. The last shot was supposed to be for Larry (Hughes) but it wasn’t there so you have to adjust to it. I always try to be ready and await my turn and be productive when I come in.”

It looks like the kid is beginning to earn his minutes now. For better or worse, it will probably come at Chris Duhon’s expense. For the Knicks, at this particular moment in their season, they have nothing to lose.

Save that myth for the casual basketball fan.

Real basketball followers know that’s not always the case.

And, if you’ve watched the first four New York Knick games this season, you especially know what a huge difference getting off to a good start means to their success.

It took three tries in a span of four nights, but the Knicks finally figured out what sometimes makes a strong fourth quarter hold up in an NBA game –- playing just as well in the first quarter.

Persistence pays.

So does another cliché… playing from ahead instead of playing catch-up.

After a season-opening blowout loss in Miami, the Knicks lost their next two games in pretty much the same fashion.

On Friday, New York had a big fourth quarter, outscoring the Charlotte Bobcats 27-13, which was only good enough for a double overtime loss because the Knicks came out flat and trailed 32-13 after the first quarter.

The following night, New York again dominated the fourth period, 41-26, but all that did was cancel out a miserable first quarter in which the Philadelphia 76ers outscored the Knicks 40-25, before later beating them in overtime.

On Monday night at Madison Square Garden however, the Knicks finally learned their lesson.

This time, playing from the start, with focus, passion, intensity, and a sense of purpose, a fourth quarter in which the Knicks outscored the New Orleans Hornets 40-30, didn’t go to waste.

That’s because it was coupled by New York also winning the first period, 31-24, slightly more than the final margin of victory in the Knicks’ 117-111 win over the Hornets, despite Chris Paul again doing what he does best.

The victory was the 300th regular season win in career of Knicks’ head coach Mike D’Antoni, who laid out some specific pre-game goals before the win. “Keep our intensity up for 48 minutes, play together, and move the ball,” he said.

That sounds fairly simple, but those were all areas in which the Knicks lacked while beginning the season with three straight losses, their worst start since going 0-5 in 2005.

Well, check, check, and check on all three accounts, and then some, against New Orleans (1-3), which lost its second straight on a northeast road trip.

“I thought our defense was solid most of the night,” D’Antoni said, as he finally saw his team buy into buckling down and getting serious about making defensive stops.

“Just a better flow of the game,” he added. “It felt better offensively and defensively. Each guy came in and understood what he needed to do.”

The one guy who did it best for the Knicks was forward David Lee, who scored a team-high 28 points on 13 of 17 shooting from the floor, while adding eight rebounds. “He was huge,” D’Antoni said of Lee.

Lee’s efforts were complimented by that of former starter Al Harrington, who D’Antoni has preferred to use as a spark off the bench the past two games. As he did with his game-high 42 points on Saturday, Harrington responded in that role, matching Lee’s eight boards while scoring 24 points on 8 of 21 shooting from the field in 29:43.

On Harrington seemingly accepting his new role well, D’Antoni said “I hope he likes it because he’s doing a terrific job at it.”

After trailing by 31, 21, and 23 points in their first three games, and never leading after the first quarter in any of those games, the Knicks came to play early against the Hornets, scoring 14 straight points to take a 16-6 lead in the opening period.

The seven-point lead the Knicks built after the first quarter, propelled New York to a 58-52 halftime lead. But Paul, widely considered the best point guard in the league, scored 11 of his game-high 32 to help the Hornets outscore the Knicks 29-19 in the third quarter and take an 81-77 lead going into the final period. Paul also had a game-high 13 assists with just two turnovers, and added five rebounds, while shooting 12 of 18 from the floor (including 4 of 5 from three-point range) and 4 of 5 at the free throw line.

However, it was the fast start in the opening quarter, leading to the six-point halftime lead, which allowed yet another big fourth quarter by New York to be the difference between a third consecutive late rally falling short and instead, the Knicks’ first win of the season.

For the first time on the young season, the Knicks consistently exhibited solid team play, sound defense, a good motion offense, and nice ball movement, often finding the open man and exploiting the Hornets’ interior defense for easy baskets.

Most of all, keeping their intensity up as D’Antoni wanted, often diving after loose balls, deflecting passes, and just having a better overall court awareness, ultimately carried the Knicks to victory.

Although Lee and Harrington led the way, they had plenty of help as the Knicks played a nice team game, with 24 assist on their 43 field goals.

Guard Larry Hughes, scored 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the field, as the latest new starter in D’Antoni’s early season lineup experimentation, as the coach searches for the best floor combinations.

Knicks’ point guard Chris Duhon scored 18 points, making 8 of 9 free throw attempts, while dishing out 9 assists and turning the ball over just twice. And, forwards Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler chipped in nine points apiece.

All around, it was largely a team effort. As Hughes pointed out, “It’s about coming out and playing hard for 48 minutes.” He added that offensively, “When we make those guys move, we can shoot the ball from anywhere. It makes the game a lot easier.” He also was happy for D’Antoni on reaching his personal milestone, saying “Congratulations to Coach!”

D’Antoni meanwhile, was happy just to get any win, and viewed the win as a positive sign of the potential of what could lie ahead when his team backs up on the court what he preaches to them in the locker room. “I was just encouraged the whole game,” he said. “We’ll just keep going forward… Much better tonight, we took a gigantic step forward.”

The Knicks can take their next step on Wednesday night, when they host 0-2 Indiana, who will first play at home against Denver on Tuesday, before coming to New York.