NYC- The stunning sexual harassment suit against Knicks President Isiah Thomas erupted in a verbal war yesterday, with each side bitterly lashing out against the other.

Thomas' accuser, former Knicks senior vice president Anucha Browne Sanders, [pictured] said the basketball legend destroyed her dreams.

Working for the Knicks "was one of the highlights of my life," she said at an emotional news conference. "I dreamed of it since I was a little girl in Brooklyn.

"Pursuing this complaint was a very painful decision because I knew it meant I would not only say farewell to my dream job, but that I would probably never be able to work again in professional basketball."

About an hour later, Thomas defied his lawyers and assembled the media to forcefully proclaim his innocence.

"All the lawyers are telling me, 'Oh, don't worry, this will pass, we will win in court, so don't say anything,' " the Hall of Famer said, just a few blocks from where Browne Sanders had spoken in Times Square.

"But it's not their name, their family, their career and their reputation that is being hurt.

"For me, this is just wrong."

Thomas was hit Tuesday by a federal lawsuit alleging the NBA standout fired insults at Browne Sanders, asked her to have sex and undermined her work.

Browne Sanders said she complained to Madison Square Garden management - and was swiftly fired from her high-profile job as senior vice president of marketing.

Garden bosses said she made a bid to extort $6.5 million - and when she failed the lawsuit landed in Manhattan Federal Court.

"I did not harass Anucha," Thomas said.

"I did not discriminate against her, I did not fire her, I did not participate in any discussion that led to her being fired.

"She did not even work for me. I will not allow her or anybody else, man or woman, to use me as a pawn for their financial gain."

The 44-year-old married father of two tried to continue his work routine last night, attending his team's Garden clash with the Sacramento Kings despite the controversy.

"My job is and always has been to get the New York Knicks back to their championship days and that is where my focus will remain," he said.

Browne Sanders claimed that Thomas' abuse started after a Knicks defeat in March 2004 - a loss he blamed on players attending a late-night public relations event the night before.

Browne Sanders was forbidden from dealing with the team, which led to her having to use cardboard cutouts of players in marketing campaigns.

Thomas started to verbally harass her, "calling her 'b---- and ho' to her face," said the lawsuit. Then he began to make sexual advances, telling her he loved her, hugging her and trying to kiss her.

His abusive comments were so public that team members, including star player Stephon Marbury, joined in, the lawsuit said.

It said his comments included, "F--- that black b----, she ain't s---, and we'll see what happens this year."

Yesterday, Marbury said Thomas is a "guy filled with a lot of character, so I think everyone here is on his side."

Browne Sanders, a mother of three, spent yesterday morning avoiding reporters outside her $900,000 Short Hills, N.J., home.

Later the 6-foot-1 former collegiate star spoke out.

"I took this action because I had no choice," she said.

"My pleas and complaints about Mr. Thomas' illegal and offensive actions fell on deaf ears. He refused to stop his demeaning and repulsive behavior and the Garden refused to intercede.

"I am outraged that I was fired for telling the truth."

"No woman, regardless of the industry she works in, should have to endure this kind of abuse on the job," she added.

She said the Garden had already launched a campaign to publicly discredit her, which included a claim that she had asked for a $6.5 million payoff when she was fired.

"I was warned that Mr. Thomas and the Garden would launch a campaign to smear me. . . . This is all a diversion. In court, they will have no choice but to deal with the real issues of my complaint."