Stephon Marbury accused Larry Brown yesterday of lying to him and added that the former Knicks coach encouraged Isiah Thomas to acquire Steve Francis last season because Brown's mission was to replace Marbury at point guard.

"I didn't listen to anything he said last year after he lied to me the first time," Marbury said following the Knicks' training session at the College of Charleston. "To me everything was up in the air. If it landed on its feet, it landed. After he lied the first time I pretty much didn't look at (Brown) the same way."

Marbury refused to get into specifics about what Brown lied to him about, saying "It's doesn't matter. It's over with." But sources claim that Marbury was outraged last November when Brown divulged details of a private meeting he had had with Marbury. According to Brown, Marbury asked to have the same freedom Allen Iverson enjoyed under Brown in Philadelphia. A source, however, says that Marbury only wanted his role defined and that he was willing to do whatever Brown asked of him.

Their relationship never recovered and when Brown publicly criticized Marbury, the veteran point guard counterattacked, eventually declaring in March that he would go back to "playing like Starbury."