hey had been in this position dozens of times, mostly on the Knicks' practice floor at Purchase College. So with 10 seconds remaining in last night's game at Madison Square Garden, John Starks knew exactly what Allan Houston wanted to do.

"When you've got a player that you're used to playing and you've played against so many years, you know his tendencies," said Starks, the Utah Jazz guard and Houston's good friend and Knicks teammate from 1996 to 1998. "I knew he wanted to get to his left and that's what he was looking to do."

Houston indeed dribbled left from the top of the key before elevating for a jump shot from 17 feet with the Knicks trailing by a point. Starks elevated with him, making it tough with his interference.

Houston's look at the basket was decent, but his shot bounced off the rim with 4.8 seconds remaining, basically sealing the Knicks' fate.

Jarron Collins, fouled by Kurt Thomas while rebounding Houston's miss, scored the final 2 points from the free throw line as Utah grabbed a 92-89 victory.

"That's the shot I wanted," said Houston, who led all scorers with 29 points. "That's the shot I thought was good for me and good for us. A lot of times it comes down to making and missing."