NBA

Savor the night, but Knicks’ real goal awaits in playoffs

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To the Yankees fan, winning a division title provides all the frenzied excitement and unexpected thrill of a delay-of-game warning. When you win 27 World Series, divisions are utterly bland.

But to the Knicks fan, winning a division title — specifically the here and now of THIS division title, which last night was formally wrapped in ribbons along with a guarantee of home-court for a playoff series with the 120-99 stomping of the Wizards — is something very special.

And not just because rooting for Jerome James and Eddy Curry can lower standards.

But face it, as nice as it is, the Knicks are the first to admit their goals are far more grandiose.

“I’ve been there, done that. I don’t get excited about this. This is just a small step,” said Jason Kidd, a title winner in Dallas. “The season isn’t over. We still have five games left.”

Still, there only had been four outright division titles in Knicks history, none since 1994 when they went to the Finals against Houston and well, that didn’t go too swell. They have a tie for a fifth, but you know what they say about ties. The Nets, something of a curse word to Knicks fans, also have won four Atlantic crowns outright despite their often tortured history.

“There’s no reason not to have a smile on our face,” said Carmelo Anthony, who scored 36 points in 31 minutes. “We accomplished one of our goals [from] training camp. It’s a stepping stone for us. We took care of the division, now it’s about finishing out the regular season strong and trying to make a push in the playoffs.”

Next stop, second seed.

“The second seed is still out there, something right there for us to take,” coach Mike Woodson said of the quest to hold off the Pacers, whom they hold a 2 1/2-game lead over.

Hey, they still have a whole week to do all that. A division title, regardless of importance or lack of, was there to savor if only for a night. By snuffing Washington, the Knicks took the next significant step of the season. They already had clinched a berth. Of course, if the Knicks flame out in the first round of the playoffs, that division banner won’t be worth the polyester it appears on. The franchise, which has won one playoff game — not series, game — since 2001, wants more. Fans demand more. So the Atlantic is a start.

And it’s not exactly a common occurrence. The Knicks claimed the very first Atlantic Division title in 1970-71 then lost in the conference finals to Baltimore. Rick Pitino’s Knicks won the Atlantic in 1988-89 and lost in the Eastern semis to begin something of a trend: They were beaten by Michael Jordan and the Bulls. In 1991-92, the first year under Pat Riley, they tied Boston for the Atlantic (losing a tiebreaker). No matter, they lost to Jordan and Chicago in the East semis. Jordan and Friends ruined Riley’s Atlantic champion Knicks in 1992-93 in the Eastern finals. Riley’s Knicks won the Atlantic again in 1993-94, took the East — then lost in the Finals.

Maybe the Knicks face another Jordan-type nemesis in LeBron James and the Heat, who whipped them in five first-round games last season. The Knicks faithful have wanted a rematch. Winning the Atlantic helped.

“That was a goal,” Woodson said. “We win a division, that’s accomplished. But the big picture is winning a title. I’m only in it for one thing.”

And it’s not the free pocket pizzas for scoring 100 points.

The next major step would be one out of the infirmary. The big-man injured list outnumbers the cast for the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

“The division is great because that’s what we set out to do as a team, but the big picture is trying to win a championship,” Woodson said. “We’re headed in the right direction but we still have a ways to go.”

fred.kerber@nypost.com