Malik Rose knocked down a pair of 18-foot jumpers to complete a 14-0 run to start the fourth quarter as the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 88-75 last night.

Rose had 18 points – his most since joining the Knicks 10 games ago – and seven rebounds against the team that traded him last month, making his first start for the Knicks as Kurt Thomas was sidelined by an infected elbow.

Stephon Marbury scored the Knicks’ final 14 points of the third quarter and finished with 31 points and 10 assists despite being guarded by Bruce Bowen, one of the league’s best defenders.

The Knicks, trying to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, gained a game on the fading Orlando Magic and pulled within 3 1/2 games of eighth-place Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference standings with 17 games remaining.

Devin Brown scored 22 points for the Spurs, who were without Tim Duncan (sprained ankle) and were held to their second-lowest point total of the season. Tony Parker added 14 points, but only four came after he started the game 5-for-5 and scored San Antonio’s first 10 points.

Duncan will be sidelined at least two weeks with a serious sprain of his right ankle. Without him, the Spurs relied too much on the 3-point shot (5-for-22) and were at a loss to find any offense when the Knicks made their surge.

Manu Ginobili scored on a reverse layup for a 25-23 lead less than 90 seconds into the second quarter, and the Spurs stayed ahead until late in the third quarter when Marbury started getting aggressive on offense.

He had six free throws, a short bank shot, two layups, and a 20-footer in a personal 14-3 run that put the Knicks ahead 64-60 entering the fourth quarter, then knocked down two free throws with 9:04 left as part of the 14-0 run that put New York ahead 78-60.

Rose ended the run with a pair of 18-foot jumpers off passes from Marbury, pumping his fist after each shot. Brown ended a nearly 11-minute field goal drought on a driving layup that made it 78-62, but by then the outcome was no longer in doubt.

When the final buzzer sounded, Rose walked over to San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich and the two exchanged hugs. Rose had been a key member of two Spurs championship teams, and the trade that sent him to New York for Nazr Mohammed was unpopular in San Antonio.

The Knicks will play host to the first place Boston Celtics on Wednesday before beginning a four-game Western road trip against Seattle on Friday. It will be their fourth straight game against a first-place club.