AMAR'E STOUDEMIRE IS FUSTRATED WITH THE KNICKS!

Amar'e Stoudemire fired his sneaker against a water cooler in a fit of rage Sunday night. The Knicks' $100 million man then sat motionless, ice packs on both knees and a look of disgust on his face.
Stoudemire, coincidentally enough, is using the locker stall that once belonged to Patrick Ewing, and there were many times when Ewing felt the same physical and emotional pain. The one difference, of course, is that Ewing experienced these moments in May and June. Not in mid-Nov.ember.

The wheels are starting to come off the Knicks' season and Stoudemire is livid over what he sees. Following the Knicks' lethargic effort in a 104-96 loss to the Houston Rockets, Stoudemire questioned the attitude and heart of his teammates and wonders if the losing mentality at the Garden is to blame.

"This is something that is a foreign land for me," Stoudemire said. "We have to figure out how to stay together and see if we can turn this around."

The Knicks lost their fifth straight game and are 3-7 heading into their West Coast trip that begins Tuesday in Denver. And yes, Carmelo Anthony will be there - but he'll be playing with the Nuggets.

Stoudemire will need the help of his current teammates, who he believes don't have the right mind-set when they take the court, especially after failing to play with any fire 48 hours after an embarrassing loss at Minnesota in which the Knicks blew a 21-point, third-quarter lead.

"I don't understand why we're not playing with the urgency," Stoudemire said. "I'm not used to it. We're not playing like we're on a four-game losing streak, now five. It's almost as if it doesn't matter. It's not something that I'm used to.

"I can't keep saying the exact same things. I keep saying it but we're not having (a) reaction."

Stoudemire suggested that maybe he's talking "too much," since his message is apparently falling on deaf ears.

"Maybe it's the fact that the winning mentality has never been here," he said of a franchise that has suffered nine straight losing seasons. "I'm used to winning. Used to talking about winning. We just can't have guys complacent and comfortable with losing. I keep saying that."

The Knicks are 1-4 at home and despite an announced sellout there were several thousand empty seats. Garden chairman James Dolan was in his usual baseline seat and he sat stone-faced as the Knicks were falling behind by 19 in the fourth quarter to a Houston team playing without Yao Ming and starting point guard Aaron Brooks.

Midway through the final period, some fans booed while others headed for the exits. A fan seated near the Knicks bench yelled at Dolan to bring back Jeff Van Gundy. These are not the sights and sounds Dolan was expecting to see and hear this season with the addition of Stoudemire.