MIAMI – “Ladies and gentlemen, the part of John Starks tonight will be was played by Jamal Mashburn.”

That’s one announcement that easily could have been made before the Heat, for a third straight year, were waylaid by the Knicks, and Mashburn, for the third straight year, came up as big as a flea.

Mashburn, who started the series strong with games of 21 and 25 points, finished it like a weakling with games of 8 and 7 points. In yesterday’s Game 7 fiasco, Mashburn shot 3-of-15 in a spiffy seven-point production. And when he had the chance to absolve himself and find redemption on the game’s final sequence, Mashburn passed up an open shot and handed the responsibility to Clarence Weatherspoon who bricked the Heat’s last chance.

Mashburn grew decidedly testy when asked afterwards if he felt he hurt the Heat with his wretchedly abysmal performance.

“Why do you say that?” Mashburn asked back.

Well, you stunk on ice for starters.

“Well, if that’s what you saw,” Mashburn seethed, “write it that way.”

Okay. Mashburn stunk on ice.

To his credit, Mashburn was one of the few Heat players who did not directly point fingers at the refs as the cause of the Heat’s downfall. Oh, he rather eloquently claimed the refs “sucked” but he refused to place all the blame for this latest Heat fiasco at their striped feet.

“No blame to them,” said Mashburn, who went after the refs at the end of the game, but was restrained by teammate Duane Causwell. “We had chances to win but they were terrible. I have a tough time when you go to the hole and there’s no call. At least be consistent. It’s hard (to accept) but the officials are a part of the game and you’ve got to deal with it.”

Mashburn also gave substantial credit to the Knicks defense that took him out of his game.

“When I got the ball on the wing, they wouldn’t let me do what I’m comfortable doing,” said Mashburn, who missed his final three shots in the fourth quarter and finished 6-of-27 in the last two games from the floor. “They came with Patrick or they came with their big four man. So you’ve got to get the ball out of the double team and look for stuff on the weak side.

“I’m not too concerned about my offense, I know what I’m capable of.”

Last year, Mashburn averaged 10.0 points against the Knicks in the playoffs. The year before, it was 6.2. And this year, he simply finished in the most forgettable fashion of all, going out on a 3-of-15 effort, recalling an effort by Starks in Houston.