Former Knicks coach Isiah Thomas was hospitalized yesterday after overdosing on sleeping pills at his Westchester mansion, sources said.
The troubled basketball great – whose failed years as Knicks coach prompted crowds to chant “Fire Isiah!” – downed 10 Lunesta pills before becoming sick, sources said.
But reached on his cellphone in the afternoon, Thomas denied those claims.
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Instead, he said it was his 17-year-old daughter, Lauren, who was having an issue, but insisted it “wasn’t an overdose.”
“My daughter is very down right now,” he told The Post. “None of us are OK.”
Despite his denials, police said a “47-year-old man” was taken from Thomas’ Purchase home to White Plains Hospital Center after cops and an ambulance were summoned around midnight.
Thomas, 47, told The Post there had been an “incident” that occurred on Thursday afternoon at the posh Rye Country Day school, where his 6-foot-tall daughter plays hoops.
But Thomas refused to be more specific and oddly told a Post reporter to call the school to see whether officials there would reveal details.
A woman who answered the phone at the school said she had “no idea” what Thomas was talking about.
“I don’t know what [Thomas] is referring to,” the woman said. “We know of no incident regarding a student and the police.”
Harrison Police Chief David Hall said “there’s no indication that it was nothing more than an accident” and did not use Thomas’ name in describing the alleged overdose.
“He couldn’t fall asleep and took two sleeping pills. He then took two more until he took too many.”
A dispatcher who took the 911 call referred to the patient as a “46-year-old male” – not a female teenager like Thomas had claimed.
The NBA legend had to have his stomach pumped in an effort to purge the pills, sources said.
Thomas was “unconscious” when paramedics arrived – but was “breathing on his own” after taking the prescription drug, the sources said.
Lunesta’s Web site warns that the drug “helps you fall asleep quickly, so take it right before bed.”
The sleep aid is not to be taken with alcohol and has side effects that include “unpleasant taste, headache, drowsiness and dizziness,” according to the site.
The hospital would not confirm whether Thomas had been transported there overnight.
Thomas’ son, Josh, 20, who currently attends Indiana University, was not home at the time of the incident.
Madison Square Garden spokesman Barry Watkins declined to comment earlier in the day, but later said “Isiah is fine.”
He also said the incident was a family matter.
In a statement last night, MSG said Thomas “spoke with members of the New York Knicks organization” before last night’s preseason game against the New Jersey Nets at the Garden and “is OK.”
“He is dealing with a family matter, and we will have no further comment,” the statement added. “He has asked that we respect his privacy, and we will.”
Yesterday, Knicks players were worried about their former coach. Forward David Lee said he sent Thomas a text message “just to let him know I’m here for him if he needs me, just like he’d do for me. Even though he’s not here, he’s a friend.”
Head coach Mike D’Antoni said: “I just feel bad about it, like everybody else.”
Thomas, born in Chicago, bought a home in the exclusive suburban enclave about 30 miles from Manhattan, four years ago for $4.075 million.
In 2006, Thomas’ reputation hit the skids when he lost a sexual-harassment suit to Anucha Browne Sanders, a team executive. Garden brass settled with her after a jury awarded her $11.6 million. Thomas, however, has insisted he did nothing.
“I’m innocent! I’m very innocent!” he proclaimed at the time. “I did not do the things she has accused me in this courtroom of doing. I’m extremely disappointed that the jury did not see the facts in this case.”
In January 2006, Thomas’ son told The Post he had seen his father weeping.
“He cried,” said Joshua, recalling the emotional moment when he spotted his dad in his private home study.
“He’s hurt,” the teen added at the time.
The pain didn’t end there for Thomas.
He was fired as the Knicks’ president and coach last April 18, though he remains employed by the team as a consultant and scout.
Thomas spent part of the spring in Europe scouting for the Knicks. It was his first assignment since being fired as head coach and reassigned to a role with no title.
In Milan, Italy, Thomas scouted 6-foot-10, 225-pound forward Danilo Gallinari, who was drafted No. 6 overall by the Knicks this year and signed to a two-year contract.
During the four seasons Thomas ran the team, the Knicks never won more than 33 games. Last season, Thomas was regularly serenaded by fans with boos and chants of “Fire Isiah!”
Thomas was finally canned after amassing an abysmal 56-108 record in two ugly seasons as coach. Disappointing showings as coach of the Indiana Pacers and as an executive with the Toronto Raptors also haunt Thomas, who was inducted eight years ago into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Thomas was one of the NBA’s great point guards – winning league titles with the Detroit Pistons in 1989 and 1990. He also led Indiana to an NCAA title in 1981.
The Knicks open the NBA regular season at home Wednesday against the Miami Heat.
Additional reporting by Brigitte Williams-James