During tonight’s 118-114 Sacramento King win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Evans decided,with the Kings losing at the half and making up no ground in the third quarter, he would take over the game as the bright lights of Broadway were shining clearly on him. The kid didn’t flinch as he led his team.

Evans finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, scoring 12 points in the final seven minutes of regulation after the Knicks had built a 15-point lead, repeatedly finding his way into the lane.

“I think the people in New York got a little idea of why we like Tyreke so much,” Kings coach Paul Westphal said. “The Garden got kind of quiet when he did that little two-step slippery thing he does. It’s something you don’t see very often.”

With 7:15 to go in the fourth quarter and the Knicks leading by 15 points, Evans scored 12 of the Kings final 15 points to bring them to a tie as the final buzzer sounded. He was an unstoppable force as his skill with the basketball, quickness, 220 pound strength, long arms, and court sense led to a variety of drives to the hoop for layups and penetration and dishes to a waiting Kevin Martin as the Knicks, even with their defensive stopper, Jared Jeffries guarding him, could do nothing to stop the kid.

The 6’6” first year player, fresh off of John Calipari’s previous point guard development program in Memphis, Tennessee (before moving on to Kentucky and John Wall) has taken the league by storm and is the leading candidate for NBA Rookie of the Year. The reality is this – if this kid, just 19, stays on the straight and narrow and continues a normal maturation process for any young player, he will become among the greatest of players in the games’ history. He’s that talented.

Meanwhile, the Knicks continue their precipitous drop into basketball oblivion as any previous hopes for playoff participation this season disappear into the netherworld of NBA also-rans.

Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni was left scratching his head again after his team lost it’s 10^th game out of their last 13, a streak that couldn’t come at a worse time as their record dropped to a season-worst 13 games under .500 (13-32).

“We’re up 15 with about seven to go and we didn’t get up on Donte Greene’s shot,” he said. “Then they had a lay-up, we didn’t get back in transition and Donte hits another one. So, it went from 15 to about 7 in about 30 seconds.”

His team was missing Danilo Gallinari, who went out with an injured forearm with one minute left in the third quarter. But, that’s not what beat the Knicks tonight. It was a lack of floor leadership when the game got tight, and according to D’Antoni, a lack of spirit.

“We’re struggling to find a way to get the ball in the right place,” he said. “Gallinari being out is no excuse, we just, for whatever reason, I don’t know, there’s a lot of spirit that has gone out of this dog and we’re just not fighting.”

Evans, on the contrary, noticed the huge amount of fight his side exhibited, particularly in the second half.

“We just never gave up, we kept fighting, trying to get the win and coach Westphal believed in us,” he said. “I think the main that got us the win was me pushing the ball, getting an easy bucket and an easy transition point.”

He’s correct. Until Westphal told him in the fourth quarter to go win the game, Evans was not playing aggressively. It looked like he got the green light to take things over when it mattered most, though.

“We got a great performance from Tyreke,” said Westphal. “We did like we’ve been doing all year. If we get behind, we don’t quit, keep playing. Tonight, we happened to close it out.”

Sounds very different from D’Antoni’s laments, doesn’t it. And, this Sacramento team has a worse record (17-34) than the Knicks yet they seem hungrier and more aggressive than a Knicks team that’s falling faster out of the playoff discussion than one of Chris Duhon’s recent flings at the basket disguised as shots.

Al Harrington scored 17 for New York, Jeffries had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and Nate Robinson had 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting, also leaving the game at one point after having the wind knocked out of him.

In tonight’s 95-88 loss to the Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli-led Spurs, the Knicks repeated the same weaknesses in the final stanza of the game they had exhibited the previous game against the Miami Heat. They simply do not have the one or two go-to players who can command the ball and the ballgame. The Heat had Dwyane Wade and tonight, the Spurs had their three superstars, now older players who can still summon up the talent and leadership skills to bring home a win. The Knicks are still looking for that player to take on the role.

Parker scored 22 points, Ginobili added 17, and Duncan made his presence felt during an off-night offensively in those last minutes. All of them embraced having the ball in their hands in the final minutes of a very closely played game while the Knicks continue to struggle to find even one player capable of filling that role. It was the difference between winning and losing.

”Down the stretch they know exactly where to go and how to execute,” Knicks center David Lee said. “That’s from years from playing together. They did that tonight. Parker hit a couple of tough ones down the stretch and so did Ginobili.”

Duncan finished with 13 points while being outplayed by Lee, but Parker and Ginobili combined for all of San Antonio’s points after the game was tied at 84 with under 3 1/2 minutes remaining. The Spurs won for the eighth time in 10 games following a three-game skid earlier this month.

”David had an excellent game and my shot wasn’t falling, but T.P. stepped up, Manu stepped up, we had a lot of guys step up and play well,” Duncan said. “So we got enough done to get the win.”

Lee matched a season high with 28 points on 11-of-13 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds, but the Knicks finished 3-2 on their five-game homestand after losing the last two. Danilo Gallinari and Al Harrington each scored 19.

The Knicks held an opponent under 100 points for the 10th straight time, the first time they’ve done that since a 19-game stretch from Feb. 18-March 26, 2001. But they wasted that effort with another poor night from the perimeter, going 2 for 16 from 3-point range.

”We’re playing a really good team that’s playing well, so you’ve got to give them credit, but at the same time we missed two fouls shots, missed a layup [and] wide-open 3s,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. “If you don’t make those against this team, you’re not going to have many chances to beat them.”

Expected to be one of the league’s top teams after bringing in players such as Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess during a busy offseason, the Spurs instead started slowly, with coach Gregg Popovich admitting it’s taken his team longer than he hoped to grasp his system. They were only 9-9 following their three-game losing streak, but are now 17-11 and usually play better in the second half of the season.

“The whole season is about jelling for us, try to adapt to all the new guys,” Parker said. “We changed more than half of the team, so it’ll take some time.

”It’s different, because we’ve got a lot of new guys and everybody’s trying to do the right thing, trying to play unselfish, and moving the ball and I think it will take some time. But I think we’re going to the right direction. I think we’re on the right track.”

Ginobili snapped an 84-all tie with a long jumper with 3:25 remaining — it was originally called a 3-pointer but overturned by video review — and after Chris Duhon missed a pair of free throws, Parker and Ginobili scored on drives to the basket to make it 90-84 with 2:12 remaining. Parker answered Lee’s basket by converting a three-point play, extending it to 93-86 with 1:06 to go.

Ginobili added a pair of free throws with 15 seconds to go as the Spurs pulled out their second victory in less than 24 hours, having won at Milwaukee on Saturday night. The victory delighted the many international fans who turned out to support Parker and Ginobili, with Parker waving to a large group of cheering fans after completing an interview on the court after the game.

“I’m very happy with the way I played the last two games and the way the team played,” Ginobili said. “It’s going to be a nice trip home.”

The Knicks need to win their final two games, at Detroit and New Jersey, for their first 10-win month since going 10-8 in January 2003.

The Spurs took a 21-20 lead after the first quarter, then began to solve the Knicks’ defense in the second. San Antonio shot 65 percent in that period, but Lee made all seven shots for 14 first-half points and the Spurs led only 50-47 at the break.

New York got the first basket of the third quarter before the Spurs ran off nine straight points to take the game’s first double-digit lead at 59-49. The Knicks caught up by the middle of the period and the lead seesawed from there, with Ginobili’s 3-pointer with 9 seconds left giving San Antonio a 70-68 edge entering the fourth.

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Had he continued down that hallway, he would have been confronted by many of the exact problems he dealt with in his five years as the Knicks leading scorer. In that room still exists issues with mismatched talent, lack of speed and quickness, rudderless at the point guard position, inconsistent perimeter shooting, non-existent inside scoring, and no defensive presence.

Funny how some things never change.

Instead, Crawford caught himself and turned around to join his newest team, the Hawks, in the visitors’ locker room where he was surrounded by a good mix of veteran NBA talent like Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson as well as high-flying athletes like Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and Al Horford. These Hawks are a team on the rise and Crawford, an 11-year veteran who has never participated in a playoff game, is their key player off the bench.

When tonight’s game began, it was painfully clear to the Knicks faithful in the stands that their team didn’t stand a chance of beating the Hawks unless they played a near-perfect game. As has been the case in most of their games this year, the Knicks couldn’t live up to it and took another one on the chin, 114-101.

The Knicks’ 1-8 record matches the franchise record for worst start to a season with Golden State coming into town on Friday.

“There are teams that have come back from being 1-10 and made the playoffs and stuff like that,” Al Harrington said. “We’re just going to keep working and keep trying to get better. It’s very frustrating for us.”

As frustrated as the Knicks are, that’s how excited these Hawks seem to be at the outset of this season, as they improved their record to 6-2.

“We’ve grown,” Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said. “The last two years we’ve been in some tough games. We’ve won some tough ones and we’ve lost. You know this team hasn’t quit these last two years and it’s a sign of the guys in that locker room. We’re all fighting for something. We’re trying to be better than a year ago.”

The changing of the guard for the Knicks began tonight in a literal sense because Toney Douglas,  the rookie coming off of two shining games in a row was installed into the starting lineup at the point guard position, replacing Larry Hughes.

Douglas showed well, scoring a career high 23 points on 10 of 19 from the field while maintaining his energy on the defensive end. He cut into Chris Duhon’s minutes which was understandable as Duhon continued his poor play, going 0-for-6 with zero points and two assists in 25 minutes. Duhon has been miserable running this offense this season and it’s conceivable when Nate Robinson comes back to the team from his injury, Duhon will be moved further down on the bench, perhaps sitting next to 6’11” bust, Darko Milicic.

“I don’t know about Chris,” said D’Antoni. “That’s a good question. He’s got to come out of it. He’s going to have to play better, and hopefully he’ll do it.”

The Knicks blew a 14-point first half lead by allowing 67 points in the second half including 48 in the last 16 minutes and 30 seconds.

Atlanta, however, scored 37 points in the third quarter including seven points from Crawford and entered the fourth leading 84-77. The Hawks then outscored the Knicks 30-24 in the final period and that was that.

“We gave them a couple of plays at the end of the quarter that we shouldn’t have,” D’Antoni said. “Joe Johnson took over. We’re just not getting enough good plays. We’re just not playing hard enough.”

Harrington scored 23 points on 21 shots with a team-high 12 rebounds. Wilson Chandler and Hughes each scored 14, Gallinari finished with 12. David Lee had trouble in the second half keeping Al Horford away from the basket as Atlanta’s center scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half.

New York (0-3) rallied from a 23-point early second-half deficit to take a three-point lead in overtime, only to see Philadelphia (2-1) close on a 17-0 run and beat the Knicks 141-127, before a raucous sellout crowd of 19,763 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

For the second time in as many nights, the Knicks dug a huge first quarter hole due to a lack of defensive intensity, stormed back with a big fourth quarter, and eventually lost a heartbreaker after grabbing a lead in an extra session. On Friday night, the Knicks trailed 32-13 after the first quarter in Charlotte, before rallying to lead briefly in overtime, only to lose 102-100.

One night later, New York again allowed an opponent to light up the scoreboard early and often. Philadelphia shot 72.7 percent (16 of 22) from the field, led by four field goals apiece from guard Louis Williams, forward Andre Igoudala, and center Elton Brand, as the 76ers, without attempting a three-point shot, torched the Knicks’ for a 40-25 lead after one quarter. During the period, Philadelphia made all eight of its free throw attempts (five by forward Thaddeus Young) and broke open a 10-10 tie, scoring 12 straight points en route to a larger 22-6 run, to take its biggest lead of the quarter, 32-16, on an Igoudala left wing jumper with 3:20 remaining. The 76ers would match that margin twice more before the first quarter ended.

New York cut Philadelphia’s lead to nine points on three different occasions in the second quarter, the last of which brought the Knicks to within 48-39, with 7:00 left in the half, on a jumper by former 1998 76er first-round pick, forward Larry Hughes (18 points, 7-11 fg, 5 rebounds, 6 assists in 39 minutes off the bench).

The 76ers though, pulled away again, outscoring the Knicks 22-12 over the final seven minutes of the first half, to lead 70-51 at halftime.

At that point, the Knicks were lucky that the hometown fans didn’t egg or toilet paper the court. They headed for the locker room under a chorus boos that weren’t exactly of the variety of Knick fans imitating Halloween ghosts.

Jeers turned to cheers in the second half when the Knicks stormed back and nearly turned the night into a happy “Harroween” or “Galloween” for the Garden faithful, as in Knick forwards Al Harrington and Danilo Gallinari, who each scored career highs to lead New York back. However, that only served to little more than cancel out what the 76ers’ scored in first half.

Harrington finished with a game-high 42 points (30 after halftime) in 36:28 off the bench, making 16 of 23 shots from the floor and 9 of 11 free throws. Replacing Harrington in the opening lineup, Gallinari made his first NBA start with an impressive display from beyond the arc. The second-year, 21-year-old Italian import delighted the crowd, scoring 21 of his 30 points in the second half, finishing 9 of 22 from the field, including 8 of 16 from three-point range, falling just one three-pointer short of the Knicks’ all-time single-game record.

Behind their two leading scorers, the Knicks reversed everything in the second half. They outscored the 76ers by the same 30-26 margin in the third quarter that Philadelphia won the second quarter by, and the Knicks forced the overtime by winning the fourth period, 41-26. Still, just as in Charlotte the night before, they had a big hill to climb, trailing 96-81, entering the fourth quarter.

It seemed as if the game was out of reach when the lead swelled back to 105-87 with 8:59 left in the fourth quarter, and the 76ers still led 110-93 on a pair of free throws by guard Andre Igoudala (team-high 32 pts, 12-21 fg, 11 reb, 8 ast) with 6:52 left in the period.

However, the Knicks, also like the night before, charged back late, as they finally started clamping down defensively and made some stops, while at the other end, Harrington and point guard Chris Duhon (7 pts, 6 ast), who was publicly outspoken about the Knicks not going into Charlotte seriously, both started driving aggressively to the basket.

Harrington scored seven points to during a 15-3 surge which brought New York to within 113-108 with 2:12 left. The last two point of the run came on a pair of Harrington free throws. In between making each one, the draftee out of St. Patrick’s high school in nearby Elizabeth, New Jersey, who always wanted to be a Knick while playing for three other teams over twelve years before arriving in New York last year, stood at the foul line, waving his arms and pulling out the “NEW YORK” on the front of his jersey, exhorting the Garden crowd to roar louder than it already was.

“I was just wanna get ‘em involved,” Harrington said afterwards. “These people pay top dollar to come watch us play. For us to be down 20 and get back in the game, the reason we did that is… we fed off their energy.”

That of course, doesn’t explain the “Defense!” chants from the opening tip during the first quarter, leading to the 76ers’ offensive explosion in that period.

A couple of free throws by forward Thaddeus Young (25 pts, 9-14 fg, 7-8 ft) pushed the 76ers’ lead to 119-112 with just 1:12 left in regulation.

But again, Gallinari and Harrington wouldn’t let the Knicks go quietly.

Two Gallinari free throws made it 119-114, before a jumper by Brand (16 pts, 7-13 fg) increased the lead to 121-114.

Harrington then scored off glass while being bumped in the lane. He made another free throw to complete a three-point play, cutting Philadelphia’s lead to 121-117 with 47.9 seconds left in the quarter. He then rebounded a missed shot by Igoudala which resulted in a Gallinari three-pointer, which sent the crowd into a frenzy and cut the 76ers’ lead to 121-120 with 11.4 seconds left in the period.

A free throw by 76ers’ forward Jason Kapono (6 pts) made it 122-120 with 10.7 seconds to go, before Duhon tied the score, 122-122, on a running, contested layup off glass with 5.9 seconds remaining.

Igoudala raced down the left side, but missed a jumper as time expired in the fourth quarter.

In overtime, Harrington starting the scoring with a three-point play, again taking the ball strong to the hoop, scoring, and making a free throw.

Williams (27 pts, 10-12 fg, 7-8 ft, 10 reb, 7 ast), who played an outstanding game for the 76ers,  answered with a jumper before Harrington made another driving layup to put the Knicks ahead 127-124 with 3:41 left in the game.

But, Harrington fouled forward Marreese Speights (20 pts, 7-10 fg, 6-7 ft, 10 reb), who made two free throws to cut the Knicks’ lead to 127-126, with 3:30 remaining.

More importantly, the Knicks best offensive option of the night fouled out on the play, and Philadelphia completely took over after that. New York wouldn’t score again while Igoudala, Williams, Young, and Speights all scored, usually off of fast breaks, to seal the win over the final three minutes for the 76ers.

“Tough, very tough,” Harrington said on watching from the bench the rest of the way.

On Halloween night, coming back to win from such a big deficit would have been great trick by the Knicks and a real treat for the Garden fans, but without Harrington in overtime, New York simply ran out of gas after a valiant effort.

Although Knicks’ head coach Mike D’Antoni was again displeased with his team’s intensity to start the game, he noted the scrappiness of his tired squad which played three overtimes in two nights. “They could have quit, but they didn’t,” he said. “I just thought in the overtime, we had a complete physical breakdown.”

“We have to find a way to play with a sense of urgency,” Harrington said. “We can’t keep giving teams 20-point leads and then fighting back and then coming in here and feeling good about ourselves… Last year we struggled with our third quarter, this year we struggle with our first quarter. We just gotta find a way to fight through this. There’s no moral victories around here… we’ve got goals we’re trying to accomplish.”

When discussing the slow starts defensively, Gallinari pointed to the need to maintain a consistent effort throughout the entire game. “We have to play our best defense for 48 minutes,” he said. “We cannot allow ourselves to have ups and downs [with that] during the game. Once we keep our energy up, everything goes fine, so we just have to keep our energy at the highest level.”

On the plus side, Gallinari feels no ill effects of the back surgery which kept him from missing most of his rookie season last year. “I feel good, my back is fine,” he said. And, he’s adjusting well to playing in New York. The only time he smiled after the game it seemed, was giving a simple answer on his new home. “Nice city,” he said.

But, Gallinari didn’t feel good about losing. Shrugging aside his own big scoring night, the disappointed and humble forward said, “I don’t feel good. We lost and that’s what matters.”

Two key areas in which the 76ers, who won their second straight, held big advantages were at the free throw line, where they shot 36 of 42 (85.7 percent) compared to the Knicks’ 19 of 24 (79.2 percent), and on the boards where Philadelphia limited New York’s second-chance attempts by outrebounding the Knicks 49-31. Three 76ers were in double figures in rebounds while Harrington and guard Wilson Chandler tied for the Knicks’ lead with just 6 rebounds apiece.

After the game, Knicks’ guard Nate Robinson (8 pts), who sprained his right ankle in the fourth quarter, told Harrington, “We should be 2-1, Bro.”

Harrington nodded in agreement.

Yet instead, the Knicks open a season with three straight losses for the first time since an 0-5 start four years ago, in 2005.

The game kicked off the start of a four-game home stand which will continue with Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets on Monday night and culminate with MSG likely buzzing when next year’s free agent Lebron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers visit on Friday night.