Cleveland Cavaliers coach John Lucas looked out at the charred remains of the World Trade Center. All he could do was shake his head slowly.

Suddenly, the Cavs' 1-5 start didn't seem to matter.

``This puts wins and losses in perspective,'' Lucas said.

Cavs assistant coach Keith Smart then was approached by a police officer. For the 12,000th time in his life, Smart was told, ``Hey, you're the guy who hit that shot.''

Soon, though, Smart wasn't talking about the winning basket he made for Indiana in the 1987 NCAA championship game. The officer was telling Smart of the funeral he had attended earlier in the day for another officer. The fallen hero had four children, and his widow is pregnant with a fifth child.

``It puts it all into perspective,'' Smart said. ``My wife will tell me to call and check in, but maybe I'll be busy doing this and that. But this puts it all into perspective. You can go at any time.''