NBA PLAYOFFS / EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS : Only Card Left for Knicks to Play Is Home-Court Edge

Having failed to shut down, wear down or psych out the Chicago Bulls, New York Knick Coach Pat Riley is down to his final ploy:

Hitting them with his home-court advantage.

With Michael Jordan gone, Scottie Pippen mutinying and Scott Williams complaining, the Bulls are still tied, 3-3, with the Knicks going into today’s deciding game.

The only thing the Bulls haven’t done yet is win a game in Madison Square Garden, although the Knicks needed help from referee Hue Hollins who called a ticky-tacky foul on Pippen and awarded Hubert Davis the free throws that won Game 5.

The Knick team that took the floor in Charleston, S.C., at 12:01 a.m. the night before camp opened for other teams--Riley said they intended to be the first on the floor and the last off it--is one bad day from the off-season for one reason:

It can’t score.

If you think the Knicks can put on a clinic when they are on defense, check their offense.

They have scored 100 points once in this series--in their Game 4 loss.

Since then, they haven’t even hit 90. In Games 4, 5 and 6, they went 83-87-79.

In Game 6, they went 17 minutes with only three players--Patrick Ewing, John Starks and Derek Harper--scoring a point. Before the fourth Knick got on the board, the Bulls were ahead, 38-19.