We may be close to the beginning of the end of Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury sharing a backcourt together in New York.

In the Knicks' Monday loss to the Houston Rockets at Madison Square Garden, head coach Isiah Thomas replaced both guards 65 seconds into the second half, again opting for Nate Robinson and Jamal Crawford in big minutes.

After the game, Thomas seemed hesitant answering a question about whether he will stay with the Francis-Marbury pairing.

"Um," said Thomas, pausing for several seconds and adding, "Yeah."  

Both Francis and Marbury expressed frustration after the game.  Newsday's Ken Berger reports that Thomas caught Marbury just as he was about to leave the building and called him into his office for a closed-door meeting.  

If Thomas wants  to make a formal change, he could alter his starting backcourt.  And it would then be reasonable to conclude that a trade of Francis and/or Marbury would not be far behind.