ATLANTA – Latrell Sprewell scored 31 points in leading the Knicks to victory over the Hawks in Game One. Last night, he matched that total with another 31 points in Game 2. At this rate, Sprewell might just be good enough to start one of these days for the Knicks. At this rate he might be able to demand it.

On a night where a lethargic Knicks team searched for early energy, the reluctant sixth man provided it off the bench once again, making 8- of-16 from the field and a healthy 15-of-19 from free-throw line to help the Knicks to a 77-70 victory over the Hawks at the Georgia Dome.

Up 2-0 in this best-of-seven series, the Knicks can sweep the Hawks by winning Games 3 and 4 at the Garden Sunday and Monday. Credit Sprewell for much of this unexpected success. In a postseason that is growing in promise, he is entrenching himself as the team’s most productive player.

“He has played well,” said Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens. “He’s tough. But we’ve got to make him work. We didn’t make him work. We have to make him defend somebody.”

Sprewell’s value to the Knicks is increasing with every game and is most evident when things don’t go well early, as they did last night. He helped his team escape an 13-2 deficit with 17 points in the first half (six more than the five starters) and eventually gave the Knicks the lead for good with a breakaway dunk that made it 54-52 late in the third quarter.

He would score 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a three-point play that put the Knicks ahead 69-58 with 6:13 to go. Take away Sprewell’s numbers and the Knicks shot just 35.2 percent from the field, though the Hawks were worse, shooting 29.6.

“The thing that I try to do when I come in is just play my game and try to limit the mistakes offensively and defensively,” Sprewell said. “I feel if I do that, just go out and play and not worry about what’s really happening, I’ll be successful.

“We’re all playing really well, myself and the rest of these guys. They’ve been so supportive throughout the year. We’re just playing well as a team and that’s what counts.”

Keep this up and it will be hard to keep Sprewell on the bench next season if he remains with the Knicks and insists he wants to start. Pardon me if I look ahead a bit and wonder whether the team’s MVP of the playoffs (so far) will be a Knick next year.

If Sprewell continues to have a monster playoff, he could exercise whatever leverage he has to assure he’ll be a starter next year if he is going to commit to the Knicks. Take it a step further into the future, and it’s easy to see a scenario develop where Garden president Dave Checketts and his new general manager may eventually be forced to make a choice between keeping Sprewell or convincing coach Jeff Van Gundy to make him a starter.

For now, Sprewell is saying all the right things, but this sixth-man issue is not going away, even though he played a team-high 38 minutes last night.

“We all would like to play more,” Sprewell said before the game. “I think everybody on this team, if they could, would play 48 minutes. When you’re competitors and you’re playing in the league and it’s the playoffs, everybody wants to play and be a part of winning. Everybody wants to contribute.”

Including Marcus Camby, who wasn’t happy about playing just 10 minutes in the opener of this series. He made the most of 27 minutes last night with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Sprewell and Camby are close and have discussed their bouts of frustration over the way they’re being used in Van Gundy’s rotation.

“I don’t think he’s discouraged,” Sprewell said of Camby. “But I think he’s like me in a sense that I would want to start and I would want to play a lot. We all want to play. We want to play as much as we can and be part of the success that we’re having. He just wants to compete like we all do.”

Sprewell says he is too focused on the Hawks to think about what his options might be in the offseason. Winning has made the sixth-man argument a moot point, but he still would rather start.

“I still feel the way I did in the past,” he said of his role coming off the bench. “After you go through certain things over and over again, you kinda accept it. I think that’s where I’m at.”

The Knicks, two wins away from the Eastern Conference finals, aren’t ready to think about the off-season issues that will face them regarding Sprewell. Will he demand to start or be a reluctant sixth man for another season? What happens if Sprewell again makes it clear he doesn’t want to be the team’s sixth man? Will the Knicks be forced to trade him? Or do the Knicks keep Sprewell, keep Van Gundy and force the coach to make him a starter?

All are volatile issues that will be addressed whether the Knicks get past the Hawks or not. Perhaps Knicks fans better enjoy this while they can.