TORONTO _ For much of the game Wednesday night in Toronto the Knicks looked exactly as you would expect in the matchup _ the worst team in the Eastern Conference humiliated by the defending NBA champions. As the score turned more and more lopsided, the Knicks hoped if a win was impossible, at least a lesson could be gained.
"Let's hope," Knicks coach David Fizdale said. "We'll see as we move forward. That's definitely a team you want to learn a lot from because when it comes to effort, energy, that team is one of the hardest playing teams and one of the most selfless teams in the league."
And if the Knicks could learn something from the Raptors it could come in handy soon because the schedule does not get easier for the reeling franchise. With a 4-14 record the Knicks are in the midst of a brutal stretch of the schedule _ facing the Sixers at Madison Square Garden Friday night and then hosting Boston before heading to Milwaukee. Denver and Indiana arrive and then it's off on a four-game West Coast trip.
