KNICKS at SPURS Tonight 8:30 – MSG; ESPN (1050) (s, lcf)

KNICK NOTES

SAN ANTONIO – The great Stephon Marbury/Stevie Francis backcourt experiment might be put on hold for the rest of the road trip that continues tonight in San Antonio.

Marbury, who sat out the second half in the Washington disaster after reinjuring his left shoulder, is listed as questionable. It was only Marbury’s third game back when he said he banged his shoulder twice, once in a collision with Antawn Jamison, the other when driving the ball.

Marbury was disconsolate after Saturday’s game, admitting he was confused, never being in a situation of being in and out of the lineup. He said this week the shoulder will never be 100 percent this season. “I was finally getting rhythm as far as shooting the ball and going to the basket,” said Marbury, who made 5 of 7 shots in the first half.

Marbury’s absence would mean the revival of Nate Robinson, who’s been on the inactive list two straight games since the Francis trade. Larry Brown prefers not to play Robinson the rest of the year as long as the Knicks stay healthy. Robinson has been unable to grasp the offense, is too high-turnover and gets easily picked out of plays because of his 5-9 stature. He would make quite an exciting backcourtmate to Francis, though.

*

Francis was allowed to stay behind after the Washington game and head to Orlando to pick up his stuff. Francis was in New Jersey when the trade was made. He probably won’t make it back for today’s morning shootaround, so his grasp of the offense will continue to be weak.

Brown cancelled practice yesterday when the team got in at 3 a.m. to Alamo City. Most teams don’t practice after back-to-backs, but Brown did most of the time this season . . . Brown is ranked last in winning percentage (.273) among the 21 Knicks coaches.