The Grizzlies are staying.  Not the team.  The name.

Ron Higgins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal says that business vice-president Andy Dolich confirmed that the team definitely will not change its name.

The Grizzlies are following other NBA teams who moved, but kept their nicknames. Examples are the Utah (moved from New Orleans) Jazz, the Sacramento (Kansas City) Kings and Los Angeles (Minneapolis) Lakers.

There was initial speculation that the team would become the Express due to the FedEx connection.  "But Grizzlies has way above a 70 percent approval rating in fan surveys, and there isn't another name that comes close," according to Dolich.

And besides, team mascot Super Grizz would have looked strange trying to dunk wearing a FedEx delivery person's outfit.

They wasted little time in shooting to a commanding lead Saturday against Memphis. They dazzled with their shooting and dominated with some crisp ball movement. The starters had plenty of rest, and the reserves led the attack.

And they simply coasted to a 111-100 victory at American Airlines in their final tune-up before a trying four-game road trip that begins Tuesday.

This was the kind of game where two players had more points than minutes ? Dirk Nowitzki had 24 points in 23 minutes, and Nick Van Exel had seven points in six minutes. And it was the kind of game where Wang Zhizhi logged a career-high 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, though he hobbled to the locker room after spraining his ankle at the end of the game and is day-to-day.

Ron Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports that back-up point guard Brevin Knight may be out for the rest of the season.

Knight has had plantar fasciitis most of the season, causing him to have recurring inflammation in his left foot.

Knight has dressed, but has stayed on the bench the past six games.  "We want to get it to the point where it's manageable. Right now, it gets to the point where I can't walk around."

Knight has a history of injuries.  His only complete season was his 1997/98 rookie season.  Since then he has missed progressively more games each year, leveling off at 53 games played each of last season and this year.

The Grizzlies don't have an adequate backup when Jason Williams goes to the bench.  They're currently locked in a struggle with Chicago and Golden State.  All three teams are stuck on 17 wins, and 20 looks like an optimistic result for all three right now.

Kevin Garnett knew one lopsided victory against an inferior opponent was not enough to whitewash all that has gone wrong for the Timberwolves the past three weeks.

Garnett said it would be a gradual process, requiring more than a flick of a switch. Judging by Thursday's performance, he was absolutely right.

Two days after ending their seven-game losing streak, the Wolves labored defensively but made enough plays when it counted to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies 95-93 Thursday before 12,314 at The Pyramid.

"One of the things we have to do is stay consistent," Garnett said. "It's not a time to be taking steps back. It was an ugly win, but we'll take it."

Still, the fact that the Wolves had to sweat out the final few minutes was surprising, considering the Grizzlies entered the game with the NBA's second-worst record.

With newly acquired point guard Robert Pack applying the pressure, Memphis point guard Jason Williams dribbled the ball off his foot and into the backcourt with 2.6 seconds remaining, preventing the Grizzlies from attempting a potential game-winning shot and allowing the Wolves to breath a sigh of relief.

"This is just part of the process," point guard Chauncey Billups said. "We didn't just start playing bad overnight. It's going to be the same way, getting back to playing our best."

Marc Berman writes that for the first time in at least a dozen years, the Knicks are considering not raising ticket prices next season.

Last summer, according to a study by The Post's Kevin Kernan, the Knicks raised ticket prices between 7-to-8 percent after losing in the first round. Celebrity-row seats were even raised $100 bucks - from $1,500 to $1,600. Yesterday, the Memphis franchise announced its ticket prices would remain the same next season.

A freeze would be a tremendous publicity move for a franchise headed toward the lottery and potential reconstruction. It also may be a reaction to the 1,000-to-2,000 empty seats seen. The Knicks still continue to announce sell-outs, claiming the tickets are bought. A waiting list for season tickets contains 7,000 names. The Knicks, who posses the league's highest payroll ($85.3M), have a league-high streak of 426 home sellouts dating to February, 1993.

EMPHIS - When Antoine Walker heaved a last-second shot from beyond halfcourt, he thought more about starting a celebration than making the unlikely attempt. But just when it seemed the Celtics had exhausted all of their late-game luck, the ball fell through the net at the buzzer.

It was a fitting end to last night's surprising 103-97 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, a game that concluded with a 14-0 run by the visitors over the final 1 minute 41 seconds.

olling, rolling, rolling. The Celtics are gathering momentum at just the right time, which means plenty of postgame chest bumps and no doubters. Even coach Jim O'Brien, who is never satisfied and always wants practice time, gave the Celtics yesterday off.

They return to action tonight in Memphis with a chance to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games. Only tomorrow night's opponent, San Antonio, owns a longer winning streak. But it's hard to look forward without considering the past, both good and bad.

''I don't want to get too dramatic here,'' said O'Brien. ''But it's very difficult to practice under the banners and retired numbers ... without an understanding of tradition, even though you may not be an historian. More than anything, these guys are doing it just to get this team to the playoffs. You can always look to the past for inspiration, but you've got to focus on now.''

Right now, Boston is playing the best basketball in the East, with wins over playoff-bound teams Philadelphia, Orlando, Detroit, and New Jersey in the last 11 days to prove it. The Celtics are part of a trio at the top of the conference with the Nets and Pistons that has been slow to generate attention and respect. But that's slowly starting to change. It's hard not to notice a team 10 games over .500 and poised to enter the postseason with home-court advantage when most basketball pundits picked them to finish near the bottom of the East.

Michael Heisley calls himself a fan.  He wants his team to win.  But there's the conundrum, according to Don Wade of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal.

If the Grizzlies aren't picking in the top five this June, their pick goes to Detroit from the disastrous Otis Thorpe trade.

Says Heisley: "Let me tell you, this is the most confusing experience I've had. I'd love for us to end up with 24 or 25 wins and still be the worst or next-to-worst team in the league.  This pick is very crucial to building this basketball team."

Heisley expects the Grizz would take Jason Williams or Yao Ming with the top pick.

In the related piece, Memphis officials and the Grizzlies are finalizing financing arrangements for the new arena.  It appears the length the Grizzlies must commit to playing in Memphis may increase to 17 years from the current 10 year guarantee.