"The first of the Knicks' Christmas presents arrived in t he Garden at 10:40 on Sunday morning, wrapped in a crisp blue pinstripe suit and a red tie:

Paul Pierce declared himself out for the opener with a heel injury, a gift for Mike D'Antoni's defense, as everyone would see only a few hours later.

After Pierce's absence became one of the biggest factors in the Knicks' 106-104 win to kick off the NBA season, the Knicks coach said this is the kind of game we'll get from now on between the two old Atlantic Division rivals.

"It's going to be a rivalry now," D'Antoni said. "We can get to the level they are."

It's possible, so long as the Knicks find someone who can make a smart decision with the basketball and if they develop into a first-rate defensive team around Tyson Chandler.

But the Celtics weren't even conceding the Knicks that, as they prepared to take their charter to Miami to prepare for Tuesday's showdown with the Miami Heat. Told of D'Antoni's comments, Pierce smiled as he stood not far from where Kevin Garnett missed the final shot that Pierce would have taken, if he could have played a Christmas game at the Garden.

"We'll have to have a couple of playoff matches and then it will be a rivalry," Paul Pierce said.

In other words, the Celtics left the Garden still viewing Miami and Chicago as their top rivals in the East, and the Knicks are somewhere down the line.

But the Knicks shouldn't feel they have to give back their opening win. They needed it more than the Celtics. The Knicks have to prove they can play together, while Boston's biggest challenge is keeping their aging Big Three, starting with their injured captain, healthy during the 66-game season and with some semblance of fresh legs when the playoffs start.

When the Celtics needed a basket to get the game to overtime, Garnett's legs looked a little too old on the final play."