The Orlando Magic had just suffered their worst loss of the season, and to make matters worse the team had a six-hour redeye flight to ponder a disastrous roadtrip in which it lost four times in five games.

The beleaguered Magic landed in Orlando early that next morning well before the sun hit the horizon. Head coach Doc Rivers managed to brighten the spirits of his players somewhat by announcing that he was giving them the next two days off in hopes that the rest would help heal their battered bodies and bruised psyches.

But veteran center Patrick Ewing, bothered greatly about missing 5 of his 7 shots and watching Seattle outscore the Magic 34-2 in the paint a night earlier, wanted nothing to do with time away from the game. He had to get this bad basketball taste out of his mouth and he had to do it right then.

"We land at 6 in the morning and Patrick asks (Magic assistant coach) Johnny (Davis) to meet him at the gym," Rivers recalled. "And Johnny said, 'When? Later this evening?' He said, 'No, now.' They went straight to (the Magic headquarters) and practiced for an hour and a half. I mean, this is one of the 50 greatest players of all time at the end of his career and he's working on his game at 6 o'clock in the morning. We had two days off before our next game, and Patrick was there both days."

Ewing, a sure-fire Hall of Famer when he likely retires after next season, returns to New York tonight, the place where he spent the first 15 years of his career. Ewing is just two seasons removed from wearing the orange and blue of the Knicks, but in many ways it seems like light years ago. His dominant days as an 11-time All-Star, which included being named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history, seems like some sort of past life. Now, the 39-year-old center is reduced to backing up Andrew DeClercq and averaging career lows in points (7.0) and rebounds (5.0) as a reserve.

But Ewing has refused to grumble about his reduced role, instead serving as more of a mentor for youngsters such as Tracy McGrady and Steven Hunter. He was particularly vocal in a two-hour team meeting Thursday, holding court about the problems that have plagued the Magic (14-17) this season.

"I'm looking forward to (playing in New York again)," Ewing said. "It's still home for me, and I want to play my best there."

Ewing's tempestuous relationship with New York always was a love-hate relationship. Fans and news media loved him for turning the Knicks into consistent winners again, while becoming arguably the franchise's greatest player ever. But his wariness of the spotlight in a city that feeds off electric personalities wore some the wrong way.

By the time when he asked for a trade in the summer of 2000, things had turned ugly. His teammates began to insinuate that the Knicks were better off without his plodding style. And few in New York seemed able to forgive him for not being able to produce a championship while in New York.

Rivers, who played in New York with Ewing for 2 1/2 seasons, is irked by the notion that Ewing's tenure with the Knicks was a failure because he did not win it all.

"It's not unfortunate, it's unfair," Rivers said. "I've always thought that. Blame me, blame Charles Smith, Rolando Blackman, Greg Anthony and Charles Oakley for not winning a title. Don't blame Patrick Ewing, because he did his job. If he would have had better players around him, he would have won a ring."

Ewing was traded to Seattle before last season and all seemed to be forgiven last February when he returned to New York for the first time. Many of the same fans who booed him spent the game chanting "Pat-rick Ew-ing!" And the 7-footer responded to the pregame ovations and the chants with a solid 12-point, five-rebound effort. It is, he said, one of his greatest basketball memories.

"It was very emotional. They tried to make me cry," Ewing joked. "I was very emotional. This time, I'll get ready the same way I always do and try to say hello to a lot of my friends who are still there before the game."

Acquired this summer along with Horace Grant to bolster the Magic's sagging frontline, Ewing's impact thus far has been spotty at best. There have been flashes of his former greatness -- 22 points in a dominant performance in Phoenix, 18 points against old nemesis Michael Jordan in Washington and 11 points and nine rebounds Friday night in Orlando's win against Detroit.

"The time that I am out on the court, I think I'm pretty productive," said Ewing, who is playing 16.6 minutes a game. "I'm helping my team and doing a lot of little things like rebounding and playing defense."

But mostly, Ewing has struggled with his stamina and to keep up with the younger, quicker players. He has been largely ineffective when the Magic have played on back-to-back nights, and Rivers has been quick to pull him from games.

But Rivers is quick to defend his veteran center, stressing that his impact on the Magic stretches well beyond the basketball court. And as the 6 a.m. workout might suggest, Rivers said Ewing is as hungry as ever for success.

"I think he's even more so driven. The one thing everybody has always underestimated about Patrick is his pride," Rivers said. "He has more pride than any single player I've ever been around. His feelings are hurt when he doesn't play well because his pride has been damaged. To him, even though he's playing 16 minutes and he's hot and cold now, he's still searching for a way to be consistent every day. And it hurts him -- you can actually see it in his eyes -- when he doesn't play well because he feels he's letting us down.

"My wife (Kris Rivers) thinks Patrick's far more relaxed and happier now," Rivers continued. "A lot of that is that he's not 'The Man.' The pressure is off a little, and he can enjoy the game. His whole career he had all that pressure on him, and I don't know if he got a chance to enjoy it. I've never seen Patrick happier. He's always laughing and joking around and he's fun on the plane. Coaches and players come up to me all the time now and say, 'I didn't know Patrick was like this.' And I tell them, 'I didn't either.' "

Rivers has no plans to start Ewing tonight -- "I don't like Patrick that much," he joked -- but does plan to use the center 20-plus minutes. And Rivers thinks Ewing will be invigorated by the return to New York.

"Patrick's M.O. so far has been when he's played out West or TV games or against old opponents he's played extremely well, so we're gonna pray and hope that trend continues," Rivers said. "I would be thrilled to death if he has a great game in New York, I really would. I'm going to try to put him in every position to do that. He'll be in and he'll get a great ovation. He deserves every hand he gets. I wish he would have gotten more of them when he was there."