On a night when the Knicks honored the passing of legend Dick McGuire with a moment of silence, Nate Robinson (pictured) made the Hall of Fame guard proud with a terrific performance.

NEW YORK – The New York Knicks were playing with all of the energy – or lack thereof – they exhibited in their last two losses against the Washington and Minnesota last week Wednesday night at the Garden.

Now, they turn their attention to Milwaukee, who invades MSG for a Friday showdown at “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” armed with rookie sensation Brandon Jennings.

In the loss against the Wizards, they were torched by Mike Miller (26 points, 7 of 8 3-pointers) and Antwan Jamison (21 points). After a Randy Foye 3-pointer gave Washington a 9 point lead in the third quarter, the decision Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni made to start the third period paid off in a big way.

After watching his team “Zombie” through the first 31 minutes of the game, Nate Robinson, who started the second half for the struggling Chris Duhon put a charge into the rest of the team.

He hit his next two jump shots to bring New York within 5 points (56-51). By the end of the third period, New York would outscore Washington 21-9 to take a 7-point lead en route to a 107-85 victory.

The Knicks scored 35 fourth period points, with Robinson coming off the bench to lead all scorers with 23 points on 10 of 15 shooting.

David Lee was right behind him with 22 points and 10 rebounds as his double-digit nights continue to add up.

Both Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari chipped in with 15 points. Said D’Antoni on Robinson’s contribution. “We were not giving anybody in the building anything to cheer about. I just thought we needed Nate. We needed him to show some energy and he did and the rest of the guys responded well.”

Although D’Antoni did not say it officially, it looks like Duhon (1-for-6, 2 points, 2 turnovers) may have lost his starting job. Over his last 5 games prior to facing the Wizards, Duhon has only shot 9 of 26. Not the kind of numbers point guards need to contribute if any team expects to win. It’s not like D’Antoni hasn’t given him every opportunity to try and turn things around. Said D’Antoni: “I just thought his energy is way down. It’s been down a little bit. When a guy deserves to play, he deserves to play.”

A very dejected Duhon is almost resigned to the inevitable. “I’m not playing well, not getting it done.”

The defense that D’Antoni has been preaching finally showed itself after they fell behind by their biggest margin of the night. They limited Miller’s outside shots and took away Jamison’s drives to the basket and second chance opportunities on the offensive glass. Combined, they only scored 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Miller never made it to the free throw line while Jamison was 3 of 4. A far cry from their combined 47 points the last time they played. Said D’Antoni on the defense they played against the two, “they got out on Mike Miller with the threes and they got into Jamison on the pick and rolls. We got the game plans and we know what to do.”

Duhon’s struggles also gave another opportunity for guard Larry Hughes, who had not played in the last five games.

While the Wizards made one more attempt at a come back, cutting the lead to 70-65, Hughes scored the last basket of the third period and the first basket to start the fourth, extending their lead to 10 points.

Washington would get no closer than 5 points (79-74) before they pulled away for good. “It was good to be back on the court. I’ll catch up the more that I play,” said Hughes.

The New York Knicks organization lost one of its most beloved members, when it was announced that Dick McGuire had passed away earlier in the day. McGuire spent 53 years with the organization as a player, coach and scout. His number 15 hangs from the Garden rafters and he was inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993. The Garden had a moment of silence in his memory before the start of the game.      

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