By MARC BERMAN

As we await word on Patrick Ewing Jr.’s fate today, I would like to try to interpret – and put in context – where Isiah Thomas may have been coming from in my interview Friday with the fallen Knick president. I’m even dumbfounded.

I’m the only journalist whose talked to Isiah since the incident and have dealt with him for nearly five years. My first thought is an overly sensitive Harrison police chief went overboard in publicly ripping a member of his community and kicking him when he was down. The police chief’s remarks were a bit much. They might be true, but he shouldn’t be saying it publicly. That’s for a newspaper columnist.

We’re hearing D’Antoni’s appearance on The Letterman show tonight is going to be postponed, likely because of the sensitivity of the Isiah issue. D’Antoni was going to read the Top 10 list of Knick promises for 2008-2009.

Isiah did not commit a crime and was never questioning the integrity of the police. He never mentioned the police.

We all know Isiah often has trouble grasping the truth and he gave his own vague, convoluted version.

My brief interview with him – which last 55 seconds according to my cell phone – came before he realized how strong the internet report claiming he was taken to the hospital for an overdose had become. Initial reports were vague.

Isiah was possibly naive in not realizing an incident that involves the police is public record and probably thought he was in his rights to protect his privacy and spin like he always spins. Would you want to admit something like that to the world if you didn’t have to?

So when Isiah started talking about his daughter having the medical issue and his daughter being “very down” after having an incident at her Country Day School Thursday that I should check out, and it “wasn’t an overdose,” it was Isiah being Isiah.

I imagine, in his warped view, whatever happened to him Thursday at midnight at his home was a direct result of what happened Thursday at school – his daughter fainting and being rushed to the hospital. Isiah cut the interview short, said his wife had just come in. He said he’d call me back. I’m still waiting, as are all his friends.

Remember, this is a guy who when the writers first met him as Knicks president, told us, “I just want to let you know. Sometimes I’m going to have to lie to you.”

His daughter adores Isiah and Isiah adores his daughter. They’ve gotten even closer the past few months as they travel looking at colleges for her. He wasn’t trying to hurt her.

The son has been much stronger in protecting his father, saying over and over it didn’t happen. He’s even said his father was headed back to work today. Are you kidding? The problem is Thomas hasn’t been getting any work by Walsh and he’s hurt because of it. Thomas doesn’t want to just collect a paycheck. He wants to work.

I have a feeling he’s also hurt that when Walsh and D’Antoni rave about late first-round draft picks – Wilson Chandler (23), Nate Robinson (21), David Lee (30) – they never credit Isiah. (Could you imagine the outcry if Thomas selected a Danilo Gallinari, who has disc problems at age 20?).

People who’ve traveled with him on road trips never can recall his use of sleeping pills. He’s going through an awful time – first time since he was a teenager when he hasn’t been the central figure of a basketball team. “He’s been beat up in New York more than anyone’s ever been beat up,” Chuck Daly told me from Italy over the weekend. Daly knows. He gets The Post every day in Jupiter, Fla.

Anucha joined the pile-on today in The Post. If Thursday night was an indication, it’s time to lay off the guy unless you want a worse incident in the future.