Rasheed has foot out door

The Knicks had been pushing to get back most of their injured big men in time for the start of the playoffs on Saturday, but Rasheed Wallace won’t make it back at all. The veteran forward abruptly announced his retirement on Wednesday, two days after reinjuring his surgically repaired left foot in the Knicks’ loss Monday in Charlotte.

“When you’ve played a number of years in this league, you know. There comes a time when you know you just can’t answer the bell anymore,” Mike Woodson said before the Knicks’ 98-92 win over Atlanta. “That’s the hard part about playing professional sports, be- cause it’s hard to walk away when you know you can’t do it anymore.

“Rasheed was a big part of our team. I tried to get him out of retirement over a year ago to come back and play. And he made the decision (last) summer to come back. Early on this season, boy, he was a big part of what we did and was a big reason we got off to a great start, I think. The players respect him and I think it will be a loss not having him around..”

Woodson convinced Wallace to return to the NBA and join the Knicks in October following a two-year sabbatical. The 6-11 forward provided perimeter scoring and a defensive presence before suffering a stress fracture in December and undergoing surgery in February.

In his first action in four months, Wallace, 38, lasted four minutes against the Bobcats before pulling himself from the game. He averaged seven points and four rebounds in 14.1 minutes per game over 21 appearances with the Knicks. His announcement came less than a week after the Knicks released 40-yearold Kurt Thomas to create a roster spot.

K-MART SHOPPING

Forward Kenyon Martin (ankle) missed his fifth straight game, but when asked if he had any doubts about playing Saturday against Boston, he replied, “What’s doubt? It’s playoff basketball, dude. You gotta cut this thing off for me not to be ready. . . . No matter what it is, I’m going to play.”

HIS NAME IS EARL

The Knicks signed center Earl Barron, who averaged 3.7 points i n 17 games for Washington earlier this season before he was released in December. Barron started Wednesday, finishing with 11 points and 18 rebounds in 37 minutes. . . . Guard/forward Quentin Richardson shot 1-for-11 (five points) in 29 minutes in his first appearance since signing on Tuesday.