NBA

D’Antoni: No need to ban card playing on trips

HOUSTON — With the league-wide scrutiny over gambling among players that led to the Gilbert Arenas locker-room gunplay, coach Mike D’Antoni said he’s not following the Nets lead and prohibiting card games on the team plane.

“I don’t think we have that problem,” D’Antoni said. “Guys are aware. We’ve got good guys. We’ll be OK.”

Nevertheless, Larry Hughes reportedly lost $17,000 in poker to Arenas when they were Wizards teammates. Hughes declined to comment earlier this week other than to say, “I play cards with a lot of people.”

Team president Donnie Walsh said Thursday team security director John Donohue keeps a list of Knicks players with a licensed gun and are told to never bring it to the arena, the practice facility or anywhere in New York City, where gun laws are the tightest.

“We have John Donohue who does that,” D’Antoni said. “That’s his job. Obviously you have to make sure it’s being done. John is great at it.”

Al Harrington admitted earlier this week he kept unloaded guns in his home, and Eddy Curry talked about owning a gun after getting robbed at gunpoint in his Chicago home nearly four years ago.

⇒ It’s no matter that Marcus Landry is an anonymous rookie who came to training camp with a non-guaranteed minimum contract and figured to get cut.

Landry, who has played two of the last three games, is ready to take on his older brother, the more established, Carl Landry, who has been mentioned in the All-Star conversation. Landry of Houston is averaging 16.9 points and shooting 57.2 percent.

“It’s going to be great,” said Marcus, who played at Wisconsin. “I faced him before in college. He’s been doing a little trash talking, so we’ll see what he does. He just keeps calling me weak. We’ll see what he comes up with.”

Marcus could come in handy for his scouting report on Carl.

“I know all his moves, every last one of them,” Landry said. “I’ll call them out. I’ll call the move out before he does it.”

⇒ Walsh flew to Houston with the team but not to meet with Tracy McGrady, who is training in Chicago.

Walsh met with agent Arn Tellem on Thursday night at the Garden but sources believe a deal will not be done until February with any team. . . . Al Harrington (calf) didn’t practice and it looks like he will miss his second straight game.