Except for a brief spurt early in the third quarter when they cut the Lakers' lead to 67-65, the Knicks never had a chance even though the Lakers were without center Andrew Bynum, who will miss 8-12 weeks with a sprained right knee. His absence only seemed to inspire Bryant to attack.

"He's got a focus and mentality that's attacking all the time," D'Antoni said.

With enough people shouting "MVP! . . . MVP!" to make the Knicks coach feel like it was a road game, Bryant was unstoppable in turning the Garden into his personal playground.

"I felt great," he said. "I was in a good rhythm."

This beat-down wasn't supposed to happen. Not with all the excitement over how well the Knicks had played of late. The pregame atmosphere was something the Knicks had hoped to carry into the rest of the week. The Garden buzz was back - at least until Bryant began torching the place and making the Knicks look like amateurs.

"We weren't real sharp with our game," D'Antoni said. "We're going to learn from this. We saw what it's going to take to be one of the better teams."

D'Antoni had talked about sweeping the three games this week, and though that seemed farfetched, at least no one was openly snickering. "I think we're good enough to play with anybody," D'Antoni said just before the game. Anybody except Kobe Bryant.

Whether this week is a step forward or a step back won't be judged solely on the number of wins and loses.

"Whatever happens we'll spin it the best way we can," D'Antoni said half-jokingly. Still, you expected the Knicks to be more competitive. You expected them to have grown up enough not be in awe of Bryant. Instead of the Garden being reclaimed, it sounded more like the Staples Center.

Worst of all, Kobe's record has given LeBron James something to shoot for tomorrow night.