Stock wouldn't surprise anyone if he comes back for one more season, given how good he looks at 41. Jackson, meanwhile, recently passed Magic Johnson for second on the all-time assist list, and Lil' Avery became just the second player in NBA history under 6-foot to play 1,000 games. No one is happier about all of the above than the legendary Bob Cousy, who recently told us how much he misses the pass-first floor leaders of yore. "Gary Payton, Stephon Marbury, going all the way back to Isiah Thomas ... they're Hall of Famers, but they're not point guards as I understand the position," said Cousy, pointing to Stock and Jason Kidd as his current favorites.

Going into the final 10 games, by our reckoning, the Knicks would have needed an 8-2 charge to get to 40 wins and have any shot at the No. 8 spot. New York promptly started its closing kick by getting blasted by New Jersey and then losing at Toronto. The problem(s)? Brilliant as Allan Houston has been at times, the Knicks are too dependant on the long ball without Antonio McDyess and a shell of their former selves defensively in part of because of the same size issues and continue to blow games to teams that don't have anything to play for.

After Sunday's loss to the Raps, the Knicks still have Denver, L.A. Clippers, Atlanta and Cleveland on their schedule. Knowing them, the Knicks will go 2-2 to confirm, with finality, that they were never really in the playoff race no matter what the standings say. At least there's still no better place to watch a game than MSG, because of that organ and that P.A. guy.

	A fan left words of encouragement for Kevin Garnett, left, and the Wolves.

With Portland losing Scottie Pippen to a knee scope, the Wolves were quietly psyched about the stretch that would follow their March 21 win at San Antonio, figuring they could seize hold of the No. 4 seed. Now, even with five of its final seven games coming against teams out of playoff contention, Minny won't be able to be coast if it wants home-court advantage.