"How do I bowl?" the Knicks new backup point guard raises his eyebrows. "Watch this. Strike by hitting a slightly curving ball into the right pocket." And then he throws, well, a slightly curving ball into the right pocket for a snappadelic strike. "THAT'S how I bowl."

That's not how many of the rest of the Knicks bowl -- and some of these very tall athletes even admit their shortcomings on the different type of hardwood. "I'm terrible," rookie Trevor Ariza smiles in the middle of the happy hubbub at "Knicks Bowl 6 presented by Panasonic" held at the enormous Chelsea Piers Bowling Center. "It's just not my game." Ariza then proves this by basically missing every pin for five straight minutes. The fans -- hundreds of them showed up to bowl with the Knicks and other celebrities such as actors Matthew Modine and Philip Seymour Hoffmann -- loved it -- and loved Trevor. "Football is my other game. Get me out there -- and it's over!," he said.

The Knicks are holding this annual event so that financially threatened New York City After School Programs are NOT over. "The five previous Bowls benefiting the Red Holzman Cheering For Children Foundation raised over a million dollars," Knicks Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Operations Anucha Browne Sanders said. "And it all goes to after school programs -- and also for building playgrounds for children in New York City's neediest areas."

Diane Garnick, who works for "three different foundations, all involved with children" brought a trio of nine-year old girls "from the community who could never be here otherwise". And who were having the time of their lives -- especially when they charged up their courage and met their favorite Knick -- second-year power forward Michael Sweetney -- in person. "He's a great player and cute," Alison Hyman explained, her pigtail flying all over the place. "He's cute and a great player," corrected Aliza Borsh. "I like him because he's so big and strong," Samantha Pittell.

"I hope he keeps eating."

Sweet assured the girls that there were no worries on that account. But bowling? "Not so much," smiled Sweetney. "I'm okay, I guess." No guesses with Bruno Sundov, who's a pretty fair bowler for a 7-2 guy with a balefully bowling-less background. "There's no such thing as bowling in Croatia," he explains. "But I've been here in America for a while. When I was in Indiana I bowled all the time. There's nothing else to do there."

Well, different (bowling) strokes for different folks: The Junk Yard Dog explained that he was actually a great bowler but pretends to be bad so the kids can beat him. Tim Thomas said he was "better at pool" but had a white coat on that was so spectacular noone could watch the alley anyway. Kurt Thomas claimed a "200 average" but the smiling glint in his eye betrayed the fact that it was closer to 20. Mo Taylor, who had four year-old lookalike Mo Jr. all over him all night, "bowled in a league for a long time" and claimed to average 220. (He actually looked real good out there.) Jamal Crawford joked "I have no idea what my average is. Let me go and bowl a few frames then I'll tell you." Contrast that with a very serious Jackie Butler: "I have never bowled in my life." "Don't believe a word," the fan bowling with the new Knicks center (who celebrated his 20th birthday that night) said. "He just hit three strikes in a row like it was nothing."

Malik Rose, who brought his own ball, may have had the best time of all. "Dude, a long time ago I stopped counting all my 300 games," he smiled, enmeshed by adoring fans from every possible angle. "You can count that high only so many times."

Coach Herb Williams is not counting at all. "I don't bowl enough to have an average," he smiled. But a great coach knows his players' tendencies. "Watch Sweetney miss this spare," said Williams. The Sweetman does, badly. "He can only hit a pin in the middle," Williams explains.

David Baum and his three kids were bowling with Sweetney. "I'm a first-year season ticket holder," explained Baum. "I'm having such a great time -- but not half as great as the kids. They're all huge Knick fans -- especially this guy." Dad tousles six-year old Joshua's locks. "We're actually from New Jersey," he said. "We feel abandoned by the Nets -- so here we are."

At the end of the fun evening an open auction brought $2500 for a "Play One-On-One With JYD" package and $5000 for a Knicks Honorary Ball kid experience. (Penny Hardaway matched the $5000 from his own pocket.) A round of golf with John Starks -- with Jamal Crawford caddying! -- corralled another $2500.

No one cheered louder for all this than Allan Houston. "I'm not bowling tonight," he smiled. "But when I do, I assure you I do it with style." Just like the Knicks organization, which showed sensational style at Knicks Bowl 6.