The Knicks mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Bucks, 91-88, Friday night at Madison Square Garden.  

The Knicks dragged through three quarters before showing their first signs of life since being wiped out in Boston Thursday night, 104-59.

Jamal Crawford led the way and put the Knicks up in the closing seconds with a side-angle jumper that went off glass.  He apologized to Knicks fans for the Boston debacle during his post-game interview on the court.

Fred Jones also played a key role in the win, scoring all 10 of his points in the final period.  Jones did not see action until an injury to Stephon Marbury's shoulder forced him out of the game.  The comeback was initiated and completed with Marbury in the locker room.

Crawford and Zach Randolph each had 25 points to lead the Knicks.  Michael Redd had 27 points for the Bucks.

Isiah Thomas promised a lineup shakeup if the Knicks do not respond from last night's Boston massacre and beat the Bucks Friday night at the Garden. Struggling center Eddy Curry (four points, 2-for-11, three rebounds) after one of his worst outings as a Knick in the 104-59 catastrophe could be headed to the bench, or even Stephon Marbury, again.

Thomas didn't hear TNT's Charles Barkley's prediction that he will get fired if the Knicks lose to Milwaukee tonight, but he sure sounded like a man desperate for a victory.

"We'll see (tonight)," Thomas said about a lineup change. "It will be an interesting game for us. We can end up winning three of our last four or take another step backwards."

"Let's see how we respond. It's depending on how we play (tonight)."

The bond between Thomas and Marbury still seems strained with Thomas saying they have only a "coach-player relationship" now.

The Knicks' brief winning streak is history, and the Celtics nearly made history ending it.

The Celtics cruised to one of the easiest victories ever on Thursday night, beating New York 104-59 to send the Knicks to their third-worst loss and their second-worst scoring performance of the shot-clock era.

Only Nate Robinson's 37-foot 3-pointer at the final buzzer saved the Knicks from an even bigger embarrassment.

Reggie Miller had tough words for the New York Knicks recently.

"Right now, they are a league-wide joke," said Miller. "It's sad because they are an historic and iconic franchise. But people think they are late night comedy jokes."

Miller, the legendary former Indiana Pacers' guard and renowned Knicks' villain, will call Thursday's Knicks-Celtics game for TNT. His broadcasting partners include Hall of Fame announcer Marv Albert, who was unceremoniously dumped by the Garden, and Mike Fratello, who had a handshake agreement with Isiah Thomas to coach the Knicks before Thomas decided to hire Lenny Wilkens.

Miller, of course, has a connection to Thomas. Besides playing against each other, Thomas was Miller's coach for three seasons at Indiana. Although the Pacers never advanced past the first round under Thomas, Indiana did reach the playoffs all three years under him.

Miller believes that considering the state of the Eastern Conference and the Knicks' talent base, Thomas should be able to get his team to crack the top eight.

"All I know is that Isiah has the talent to make them a playoff-caliber team," Miller said Tuesday over the telephone. "With the talent New York has, they should easily be in the top six. Only Orlando and Boston are running away with the conference. New York is not out of it. All they need is a four- or five-game winning streak, and they've already won two of them."

A fed-up Marbury returned fire at the hometown crowd after the Knicks' 113-109 win over the Jazz, saying fans at the Garden boo out of ignorance.

"If people feel like they need to come here and do that, then that's what they're going to do," the Coney Island product said. "I don't even think they know why they're booing."

Marbury was responding to the deafening boos that greeted him during pregame introductions by a crowd still smarting from the veteran point guard's one-game defection from the team two weeks ago in Phoenix.

Marbury claimed the boos didn't affect him, but they certainly appeared to motivate him in his one-on-one matchup with Utah's young Deron Williams, already one of the NBA's top point guards.

Lakers' Coach Phil Jackson has been mentioned in some circles as a possible fix for the Knicks when or if there is a shakeup at the Garden. Though you never say never, the smart money has Jackson staying with the Lakers.

Earlier this week, Jackson, with a 2-year, $20-million extension waiting, said he hadn't thought about his future. Last night Jackson admitted he has given it some consideration and plans to talk with Lakers' owner Jerry Buss.

"I have thought about it, but I'm not willing to state what my position is. I think I should sit down and talk to Dr. Buss about it," said Jackson, who claimed his hip replacement last year would not interfere.

Isiah Thomas says he doesn't expect to be fired as Coach and General Manager of the struggling New York Knicks, based on his conversations with his boss, Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan.

"I don't foresee there being any changes this year," Thomas said Friday when asked about his discussions with ownership and his job security, Newsday reported.

"I just don't think this is the time to panic after 11 games in the season," Thomas said, according to the newspaper.

The Knicks are 2-9 and last in the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division. New York hosts Chicago on Saturday.

Golden State GM Chris Mullin is expected to emerge as a top candidate for the Knicks' GM job if Isiah Thomas eventually is fired from his dual role as coach and president, The Post has learned.

Mullin was at sold-out Madison Square Garden on Tuesday and heard all the "Fire Isiah" chants as his Warriors belted the Knicks by 26 points.

The former St. John's sharp-shooting superstar out of Brooklyn told a confidant Wednesday that an employee from the organization, during an informal chat, secretly asked Mullin if he'd be interested in coming to the Knicks if the GM spot is open next summer.

Owner James Dolan is not ready to make a move yet, and Thomas will coach the team tomorrow against the Bulls, though he appears on thin ice.

Mullin, 43, is in his fourth season as Golden State's executive VP of basketball operations and has built a young, athletic team that posted one of the biggest playoff upsets in NBA history when it shocked the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs last spring.

Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reports that the status of Isiah Thomas as president and coach of the Knicks is now day-to-day.  He discusses a list of top candidates to replace Thomas if he is fired, including former Knick head coach Jeff Van Gundy.

James Dolan knows that under Van Gundy, the Knicks were winners and that Van Gundy was immensely popular with the fans.  

Van Gundy immediately would find eight or nine players who are willing to compete, defend and sacrifice for the good of the team.  He would restore the defensive-minded culture that made the Knicks a feared team in the '90s.

His greatest challenge would be getting through to Eddy Curry, who mostly has looked disinterested this season. However, Van Gundy has had a pretty good success rate working with centers such as Patrick Ewing, Marcus Camby and Yao Ming.

Isola believes former Knick and native New Yorker Mark Jackson may also garner consideration and discusses the possibility that Jackson could be hired as an assistant coach who would eventually take over the head coaching job from Van Gundy.

NBA Commissioner David Stern says he has had no discussions with the New York Knicks about intervening in the franchise's off-court soap operas or on-court problems, according to a report in Newsday.

According to multiple media reports, Stern asked Cablevision owner Charles Dolan -- whose son James Dolan runs Madison Square Garden and the Knicks -- to make changes in management at Madison Square Garden in the wake of a sexual harassment lawsuit against MSG and the team's questionable on-the-court personnel decisions.

Stern was also reported to have approached James Dolan during a board of governors' meeting and said "Either you take care of it, or I will."

According to Newsday, Stern said neither of those things happened.