The Knicks got a royal beatdown courtesy of the Celtics last night by a score of 104-59. I'm pretty sure a beating like this is illegal in most states and it's called aggravated assault.

Only Nate Robinson's 37-foot 3-pointer at the final buzzer saved the Knicks from scoring the fewest points in franchise history. That might not be enough to save coach Isiah Thomas from getting fired: He was all-but-gone during an eight-game losing streak before earning a reprieve with two straight wins.

Now the Knicks are embarrassing themselves again.

"We take two steps forward and one giant step back," Thomas said. "I don't know where this game came from. I thought we played extremely selfish tonight ... Definitely didn't see this type of game coming after the last two games we played. This was just not a good night."

Um, ya think?
But unlike Boston's superbeast NFL Patriots, the Celtics actually made a strong effort not to run up the score. They tried to help the Knicks earn some pride back. Almost like a Jerry McGuire "Help us, to help you" moment.

Kevin Garnett played just 22 minutes, scoring eight points before leaving the game midway through the third quarter with Boston ahead 69-34. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen also sat out the fourth quarter and played 29 minutes apiece.

"I can't even remember having that much rest," Garnett said. "It's good, because we have back-to-back games. Rest is important at this time."

Maybe that's what the Knicks were doing during this game. Catching up on some much needed sleep.