He doesn't say much, accepts his role and doesn't mind waiting for his turn. Although he played trumpet as a teenager, Othella Harrington isn't one to blow his own horn. But when he leaves the Knicks' bench, he undergoes a personality change. The quiet man gets nasty.

"My natural demeanor is to be a laid-back guy, just take in stuff and say something once in a while," the former Georgetown star said yesterday after practice. "I think when I'm on the court, love for the game takes over. Basketball dominates a large part of my life, and the passion is there.