When Antonio McDyess strolls the Garden hallways tonight, he will give the cold shoulder to Isiah Thomas.

"He never said anything to me when I was there, so what do I have to say to him now?" the former Knick, now an injury-listed Sun, told The Post yesterday.

"I'm happy to be out of that situation. I was feeling uncomfortable."

McDyess won't play tonight when the Suns visit for the first time since Jan. 5's Stephon Marbury blockbuster. He'll save his revenge for the Knicks' visit to Phoenix Feb. 25.

The agent for Seattle Supersonics center Jerome James says that if he feels that his client is not part of the team's future, he will likely opt-out of his contract this summer.

"It's way too early for us to make that determination," (Marc)Fleisher said. "It depends on how well he plays, how much opportunity he is given to play, what other potential suitors are out there, do they have cap space where he might be able to fit if he is unhappy where he is?

"I think right now his preference would be to stay (in Seattle) and play. But obviously if he gets the sense that he is not in their future plans, then he would want to look elsewhere."

Contract talks between the New York Knicks and forward Kurt Thomas have stalled.

"We've had discussions but they haven't been very fruitful," said Thomas' agent, Jerry Hicks. "The fact that they've expressed interest in doing something with Kurt, we interpret that to be a positive, but nothing has happened."

Thomas can opt-out of his contract this summer, which he is likely to do if he doesn't get an extension.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) The Los Angeles Lakers are hoping Karl Malone will be healthy enough to play the final 20 games of the regular season.

That would give the team and the injured forward, out since Dec. 21, sufficient time playing together to prepare for the playoffs.

Still, concern looms.

Malone's right knee has been slow to heal. Originally, it was thought he'd return Feb. 17, the first game after the All-Star break. Now, it appears Malone won't play until mid-March at the earliest.

``We have to do an extended healing process,'' coach Phil Jackson said Thursday. ``The swelling in the knee has to go down for him to heal that knee up, and it's not happening as rapidly as we wanted. ``

Malone underwent a second series of MRI tests Monday, revealing the damage still remained. The injury, first called a ligament sprain, is now being referred to as a ligament tear.

Jackson also believes Malone will quickly fit in when he returns despite playing only 24 games earlier this season.

``Knowing he's aggressive, how he plays his defense, how he runs the court will assist us in accommodating the lineup when he gets back,'' Jackson said.

The Lakers were 20-5 before the two-time NBA MVP was injured, but are 7-10 since.

Shaquille O'Neal doesn't foresee Malone struggling when he's healthy.

``Karl is going to be very eager and going to have a lot of rest,'' O'Neal said. ``And we haven't seen a Karl like that in a long time. He works out every day. He's not going to have a problem.''

The health of the two-time NBA MVP, in his first season with Los Angeles after 18 years with the Utah Jazz, isn't the only concern for the Lakers,

Kobe Bryant is still battling an aching shoulder, and he didn't practice Thursday.

The injury _ a sprain in his right shoulder joint _ kept Bryant out of the lineup for six games earlier this month. Then he returned for the last two.

O'Neal, who missed 12 games with an injured right calf, said it felt fine Thursday.

``I'm really concerned with Kobe and Shaquille,'' Jackson said. ``Our team has to start functioning with them on the court and with Kobe not being able to practice is a major problem for us right now.''

Bryant will miss next Monday's game in Indiana to attend a court hearing in Colorado in his sexual assault case.

NEW YORK (AP) Kobe Bryant was selected to start in the NBA All-Star game, voted in by fans despite a sexual assault charge.

The Los Angeles Lakers star led Western Conference guards with 1,759,717 votes in final results released Thursday, fourth among all players.

He was picked to start in front of his hometown fans at Staples Center on Feb. 15 in the 53rd NBA All-Star game.

Bryant's teammate, Shaquille O'Neal, was beaten out for the second straight year by Houston's Yao Ming. The Chinese center edged O'Neal by less than 32,000 votes.

``That's cool,'' O'Neal said. ``Where he's from there are 2 trillion people.''

But it was O'Neal who got more electronic votes from fans around the world, while Yao had the advantage in paper ballots available in the United States and Canada.

Joining Bryant and Yao on the Western Conference squad were Rockets guard Steve Francis, San Antonio forward Tim Duncan and Minnesota forward Kevin Garnett, last year's All-Star game MVP.

Toronto Raptors forward Vince Carter led all players with 2,127,183 votes. It's the fourth time he's finished first in the voting, tied for second all-time with Julius Erving. Michael Jordan holds the record with nine.

Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal will be the other starting forward for the Eastern Conference. The center is Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons, and the guards are Philadelphia's Allen Iverson and Orlando's Tracy McGrady.

Bryant is charged with sexual assault for allegedly raping a 19-year-old employee at a Colorado resort during the offseason. He faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation if convicted of felony sexual assault. Bryant, 25, says the two had consensual sex.

It's been a tough season for Bryant on the court as well.

He leads Los Angeles in scoring at 21.7 points per game, but he missed six games because of a sprained right shoulder and has heard plenty of boos on the road, where the Lakers are 7-12.

The 29 head coaches will vote for the reserves in their respective conferences. Those results will be announced Feb. 3.

Indiana's Rick Carlisle will coach the Eastern Conference All-Stars. Flip Saunders of the Minnesota Timberwolves will lead the West.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Jason Kidd scored 33 points and the New Jersey Nets won again under interim coach Lawrence Frank, defeating the Orlando Magic 89-79 Thursday night.

Frank took over earlier this week for the fired Byron Scott. In all, the Nets have won three straight.

Kenyon Martin had 18 points while Richard Jefferson added 13. Lucious Harris scored all 12 of his points in the final quarter.

Kidd shot 15-for-27 in breaking out of a slump that saw him score 32 points in his previous three games. He also had 10 rebounds for his 24th double-double of the season.

Tracy McGrady, announced as an All-Star starter before the game, scored 22 points for Orlando. Keith Bogans scored 13 and Rod Strickland came off the bench to add 12.

McGrady would have passed Allen Iverson for the NBA scoring lead with a fifth straight 30-point game.

Kings 96, Spurs 91

SAN ANTONIO (AP) Bobby Jackson converted a four-point play with 29.1 seconds left to help the Sacramento Kings put down a late rally by San Antonio.

Leading 91-87, the Kings ran down the shot clock almost all the way before Mike Bibby found Jackson in the left corner. Jackson hit a fallaway 3-pointer while being fouled by Bruce Bowen, and he made the free throw.

Peja Stojakovic led the Kings with 22 points, while Jackson added 18 and Bibby 17. Jackson made all three of his 3-point attempts in the second half.

Tim Duncan paced San Antonio with 35 points and 18 rebounds, while Tony Parker scored 19.

Trail Blazers 93, Hawks 85

ATLANTA (AP) Rasheed Wallace had 11 of his 20 points during a dominating third quarter, and Zach Randolph finished with 22 to help the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Atlanta Hawks.

The Trail Blazers have won four in a row on the road after a 2-16 start away from home.

Damon Stoudamire had 13 assists _ including eight during that third quarter _ and Darius Miles scored 16 points for Portland.

Stephen Jackson led the Hawks with 15 points, and Jason Terry added 14. Atlanta has lost three of four, including the past two at home, and it still has three left on a five-game homestand.

Minnesota at Los Angeles Lakers (10:30 p.m. EST). Midwest Division-leading Minnesota brings a five-game winning streak to Los Angeles.

STAR

Thursday

Jason Kidd, Nets, scored 33 points, 20 in the first half, to help New Jersey beat Orlando 89-79.

BIG QUARTER

Portland outscored Atlanta 29-15 in the third quarter Thursday night in a 93-85 win. Rasheed Wallace had 11 of his 20 points during that period, and Damon Stoudamire had eight of his 13 assists.

IN A ZONE

Sacramento and San Antonio put on an impressive long-range shooting display Thursday night in a 96-91 win. The Kings went 9-for-14 on 3-pointers, and the Spurs shot 7-for-11.

STRONG IN DEFEAT

Tim Duncan scored 35 points and had 18 rebounds in San Antonio's 96-91 loss to Sacramento on Thursday night.

SNAPPED

San Antonio lost to Sacramento 96-91 on Thursday night. The loss ended the Spurs' league-longest streak of 33 straight months with a winning record. They are 7-9 in January with one game left in the month.

SPEAKING

``That's cool. Where he's from there are 2 trillion people.'' _ Los Angeles' Shaquille O'Neal after being beaten out for the second straight year by Houston's Yao Ming in All-Star voting. The Chinese center, who edged O'Neal by less than 32,000 votes, actually had the advantage in paper ballots available in the United States and Canada. It was O'Neal who got more electronic votes from fans around the world.

Feb. 13-15 _ All-Star weekend, Los Angeles.

Feb. 19 _ Trading deadline, 3 p.m. EST.

Apr. 14 _ Regular season ends.

Apr. 17 _ Playoffs begin.

May 10 _ Early draft entry eligibility deadline.

June 1-4 _ Predraft camp, Chicago.

June 6 _ NBA Finals start date (possible move up to June 4)

June 20 _ NBA Finals, latest possible end date.

June 24 _ NBA draft, New York.

July 1 _ Teams may begin negotiating with, but not sign, free agents.

July 14 _ 2004-05 salary cap set. Teams may begin signing free agents.

Aug. 13-29 _ Athens Olympics.

Oct. 15-17 _ NBA China Games (Sacramento vs. Houston), Beijing.

Phoenix at New York (7:30 p.m. EST). The Suns face the Knicks for the first time since the blockbuster trade that sent Stephon Marbury to New York.

STAR

Thursday

Jason Kidd, Nets, scored 33 points, 20 in the first half, to help New Jersey beat Orlando 89-79.

BIG QUARTER

Portland outscored Atlanta 29-15 in the third quarter Thursday night in a 93-85 win. Rasheed Wallace had 11 of his 20 points during that period, and Damon Stoudamire had eight of his 13 assists.

IN A ZONE

Sacramento and San Antonio put on an impressive long-range shooting display Thursday night in a 96-91 win. The Kings went 9-for-14 on 3-pointers, and the Spurs shot 7-for-11.

STRONG IN DEFEAT

Tim Duncan scored 35 points and had 18 rebounds in San Antonio's 96-91 loss to Sacramento on Thursday night.

SNAPPED

San Antonio lost to Sacramento 96-91 on Thursday night. The loss ended the Spurs' league-longest streak of 33 straight months with a winning record. They are 7-9 in January with one game left in the month.

SPEAKING

``That's cool. Where he's from there are 2 trillion people.'' _ Los Angeles' Shaquille O'Neal after being beaten out for the second straight year by Houston's Yao Ming in All-Star voting. The Chinese center, who edged O'Neal by less than 32,000 votes, actually had the advantage in paper ballots available in the United States and Canada. O'Neal drew more electronic votes from fans around the world.