With Stephon Marbury writhing on the ground, clutching his left shoulder after Dallas' Josh Howard dove on top of him during a scramble for a loose ball in the fourth quarter, Nate Robinson had one thought.

"Please, just get up," Robinson recalled after the Knicks lost to Dallas, 92-77, last night at the Garden. "If he ever goes down, I'll be ready, but we need him."

As it turned out, Marbury said he merely suffered a stinger and would have been able to return to the game if the Knicks were still in it. Still, the injury ended what was a terrible night for him and backcourt mate Steve Francis.

"We definitely don't want that to happen often," Francis said. "We can't afford it."

"I knew what it was," said Marbury, who expects to play tomorrow against Portland. "I've had them before. I was just trying to get the feeling back in my hands. It's a bad feeling."