This work ethic and his on-court prowess were the reason the 76ers invested $80 million this off-season to make Brand the face of their franchise.

Last night, the Sixers lost to the Knicks, 110-104, in their first home preseason game, but Brand gave fans a glimpse of the player he could be by scoring 18 points in the first quarter.

Brand finished with 24 points. He scored in a variety of ways: on the block, rolling off a pick, driving to the basket.

"I wanted to show them who I was," he said.

Coach Maurice Cheeks started the same lineup - point guard Andre Miller, shooting guard Andre Iguodala, small forward Thaddeus Young, power forward Brand, and center Sam Dalembert - he started on Wednesday when the Sixers defeated Boston, 98-92, in their preseason opener.

"They played the way we know they can play," Cheeks said. "We just have to keep these guys in some kind of rhythm."

Notes. In the third quarter, Young suffered a corneal abrasion to his left eye and did not return. . . . Lou Williams received three stitches for a lacerated chin and did not return. . . . Sixers second-year center Jason Smith, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in August, is still using crutches. Smith said he is working on strengthening his hip and calf muscles as well as using the stationary bike to work on range of motion. Smith underwent surgery Sept. 17.