By RB.com Minister of Disinformation B-Huge.

Philosophical question of the night: Do the New York Knicks always seem to acquire players you dislike or do you dislike them simply because they play for the Knicks?

I ask this because any victory over the Knicks seems particularly sweet and yet gone over the past few years are the likes of Marcus Camby, Latrell Sprewell, and Larry Johnson. Now I root just as hard for career ending knee injuries for players as mild-mannered as Howard Eisley. What I'm getting at is that beating the Knicks is cause for celebration no matter how ugly the victory was.

Despite shooting 54% in the first-half the Raptors only had a one-point lead at halftime. Vince Carter only had played six minutes due to foul trouble. Keith Van Horn was a beast on the offensive boards and the Raptors handed over 11 turnovers. Allan Houston has getting his bag of daggers ready. All the ingredients were there for a massive second-half collapse.

But these aren't the .500 Raptors of November; they are the .600 Raptors of December! Jalen Rose stopped turning the ball over. Van Horn only made two shots the rest of the way. Alvin Williams stepped up with some great jump-shooting. Kurt Thomas sucked. Oh, wait he always sucks. Donyell Marshall started dominating the defensive glass (19 rebounds). Houston put the game into overtime with a clutch 3-pointer but his deal with the devil seemed to run out after that. Vince did not pick up another foul the rest of the way and handed out 8 assists while facing a constant double-team. Did I forget to mention that 10 of his 18 points were scored in overtime?

The only thing standing between the Raptors and a well-earned Christmas break is the lowly Orlando Magic. In other words, it's a classic Trap Game. Dear Santa, all I'm asking for is a complete humiliation of Tracy McGrady.