WASHINGTON – It’s not as if he needs the money, but Knick guard Allan Houston will try to earn an extra $25,000 by winning the Shootout tonight as part of All-Star Saturday night at the MCI Center.

Also competing are Dallas’ Steve Nash, Sacramento’s Peja Stojakovic, Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas, Pat Garrity of Orlando, Rashard Lewis of Seattle and Bryon Russell of Utah. Jeff Hornacek, last year’s Shootout champion, joined Larry Bird, Craig Hodges and Mark Price as the only players to win it at least two times in the 15-year history of the event.

“I shot some [on Thursday] just to get a feel for it and just to see what side I’m going to shoot from,” said Houston, who has made 41.2 percent of his 3-pointers this season. “But you can’t really tell until you get into a rhythm out there. Let’s just hope I do get in a rhythm, and don’t step on the line or something.”

On making his second straight All-Star appearance, Houston said: “Last year was kind of a whirlwind. I was just happy to be doing everything. This year, I kind of know what to expect. It’s a fun weekend for everybody.”

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Kobe Bryant was fined $10,000 by the NBA for missing media day.

The Laker star said he wanted to skip Sunday’s All-Star Game because of a sore right shoulder, but said he’ll play because he doesn’t want to risk being suspended.

A 20-second shot clock, the elimination of illegal defense rules and other radical adjustments were among the proposed rules changes discussed by the NBA’s competition committee.

No recommendations were issued, although the committee plans to meet again in June.