Brown’s New York homecoming disappointing so far

Larry Brown’s arms flapped at once, his right signaling to point guard Stephon Marbury and the left pointing a big man to his spot. It’s amazing he didn’t throw both hands up in frustration instead.

The Knicks were in the middle of another late-game collapse.

So far, Brown’s New York homecoming has been anything but fun. His team has failed to win a game on the way to its worst start in 18 years, and Brown insists he might need to change his coaching style ever so slightly at age 65 to get things turned around.

“I remember when I was at Kansas, we lost five straight games. I told the team ‘We’re playing great,’ and we won the national championship a month later,” Brown recalled Friday, before the Knicks’ 86-84 loss to the Golden State Warriors, New York’s fifth straight defeat to start the season.

“I see signs we’re getting better, but we’ve got to somehow get a rotation, get that down a little bit. It’s going to take time. You’ve got to keep trying to get better, and I’ve got to coach much better.”

Brown left the Pistons after two successful seasons – Detroit won the NBA title in 2004 and is the two-time defending Eastern Conference champion – when Knicks president of basketball operations Isiah Thomas wooed the Brooklyn native back to the Big Apple.

As Brown is quickly finding out, turning around a franchise in the country’s largest sports market is a huge task. That’s even with the great basketball minds of Thomas and Brown, Marbury as the floor leader and proven veterans such as Anfernee Hardaway to complement him.

Brown already has tried several starting rotations, and when asked how his lineup might look in the coming days, he smiled and responded with a chuckle, “Let’s just get through tonight.”

On the courts

Wizards 110, Spurs 95: At Washington, Gilbert Arenas made 11 of his first 12 from the field and scored 43 points to lead Washington past San Antonio.

Grizzlies 85, Hawks 84: At Atlanta, Pau Gasol’s tip-in at the final buzzer lifted Memphis to a victory over winless Atlanta.

Heat 108, Bobcats 99: At Miami, Jason Williams scored 22 points, Dwyane Wade added 19 and Alonzo Mourning 16 to lead Miami over Charlotte.

Mavericks 109, Hornets 103: At Oklahoma City, Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points to lead Dallas over New Orleans.

Rockets 99, Nets 91: At East Rutherford, N.J., Tracy McGrady scored 30 of his 35 points in the second half, and Yao Ming added 18 points to lead Houston over New Jersey.

Bulls 103, Jazz 98: At Chicago, Luol Deng scored 21 points and Kirk Hinrich added 19 points and 11 assists to lead Chicago over Utah.

Suns 101, Warriors 86: At Phoenix, Shawn Marion had 22 points and 15 rebounds and Raja Bell scored a season-high 20 points, helping Phoenix to a victory over Golden State.

Bucks 103, Pacers 102: At Milwaukee, Mo Williams hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, rallying Milwaukee to victory over Indiana.