"During a tense evening on the parquet, the Knicks flirted with humiliation, the Boston Celtics preened and nearly everyone walked away with anger in their eyes and malice in their mouths.

Nothing much was settled here Tuesday, except that the Celtics - five months removed from their championship celebration - remain a potent force and the Knicks remain a work in progress.

The Knicks fell behind early and, despite a late rally, lost, 110-101. But it was what happened between the baskets that seemed to leave the greatest impression, and the promise of a tension-filled reunion next month. Between drives through the lane, the Celtics (10-2) gloated over their championship run, or so the Knicks said.

According to some of the Celtics, it was the Knicks (6-5) who were guilty of starting the verbal warfare.

In any case, they all seemed mildly annoyed afterward, particularly Quentin Richardson, who has a history of run-ins with Paul Pierce, Boston's All-Star forward.

"They won the game," Richardson said, "but I think a few of those guys know that they can't just say anything to us."

Then Richardson launched into a rant about the Celtics' bravado, the implied lack of respect that came with it and the possible consequences.

"I'll just be real curious to see what a lot of those guys would say if we weren't in a basketball arena, where there ain't no referees and the N.B.A. officals are going to stop certain things," Richardson said. "I mean, it wouldn't be the same story. They are the world champions and rah-rah-rah. But I mean the tough talk, I don't buy.

"I come from a neighborhood where you can say what you want to say - until you do something, it really don't mean nothing. Some of those guys are woofing about, 'Get a ring.' You ain't been in the league long enough to talk like that to some people who's got as many years as we got over here. I don't got a lot of respect for that."

Those sentiments were relayed to the Celtics in their locker room, where Kendrick Perkins flipped the script.

"They was doing all the trash-talking," he said. "They started everything that was going on. We really weren't talking noise. They started it."

It seemed that everyone had skipped the pregame sermon which was titled, according to flyers posted in the locker room, "How to Handle Your Haters." The dialogue will continue when the Knicks return to Boston on Dec. 21.

Taunts and accusations aside, the Knicks perhaps regained a little respect with a hard-fought fourth quarter. A year ago, the Knicks disintegrated on this same court, in a 104-59 rout. This time, they kept the game in reach, a task made easier by the absence of Kevin Garnett, who was serving a one-game suspension.

Pierce, guarded by Richardson, started slowly but scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to finish with 22. Leon Powe (14 points) and Kendrick Perkins (16 points) took turns pounding the Knicks inside, leading the Celtics t