Stephon Marbury hadn’t missed three straight games since he sat out the final nine at the end of the 2000-01 season, his last with the Nets.

But at shootaround yesterday, the point guard said that he would be unavailable for last night’s game against the Hornets at the Garden, still suffering from the sprained left shoulder he suffered against Minnesota on Monday.

“It’s better,” Marbury said. “I’ll definitely be back Wednesday.”

But that didn’t help the Knicks last night, who went up against one of the best young point guards in the league, rookie Chris Paul.

“It’s going to be tough, especially without Stephon,” said head coach Larry Brown, whose team has now dropped four straight. “[Paul would] be a problem no matter what.”

No matter how good Paul is, however, the Knicks would be hard-pressed to play worse against the Hornets than in their last game without Marbury. They barely showed up in an ugly 105-79 loss to the Pistons.

Marbury thought his teammates would play significantly better in their second game without both him and suspended forward Antonio Davis.

“It was really hard, really tough to not be out there with us playing like that,” Marbury said. “But I think things are going to settle in for everyone [last night] since they’re more used to both of us being out. I think they’ll adjust.”

When asked, Marbury said he couldn’t remember the last time he missed three straight games. But the tendon injury was the last time he was forced to the bench due to injury. He was suspended for one other game before starting the league-high 280 game consecutive streak that was snapped after Marbury was floored on a pick by Minnesota’s Wally Szczerbiak on a pick in the Knicks’ 96-90 loss Monday.

In the team’s first game without Marbury, the Knicks forced overtime before falling in Chicago, 106-104, but were clearly overwhelmed on Thursday against Detroit.

There were culprits all around that night, from Jamal Crawford faltering in a starting role with just two points, or Marbury’s replacement at the point, Nate Robinson, who turned the ball over seven times.

Despite the apparent need for Marbury, both he and the team believed that he would be best served by not playing last night, particularly since the Knicks don’t play again until Wednesday against Sacramento, nine days after the injury occurred.

“Then I know I’ll be ready to go,” Marbury said.