The last time the Boston Celtics hosted the New York Knicks, they cruised to their most lopsided victory in 37 years. That type of domination may not be likely Wednesday night when the NBA-leading but short-handed Celtics go for a fifth consecutive win over the lowly Atlantic Division rivals.

The Celtics (40-9) embarrassed the Knicks (15-36) at TD Banknorth Garden on Nov. 29 with a 104-59 rout - the sixth-biggest win in team history and largest since a 153-107 victory over the Baltimore Bullets on Nov. 27, 1970, a win that took place before any player on the current roster was born.

Only Nate Robinson's 37-foot 3-pointer at the final buzzer spared New York from setting its own record for the fewest points in a game.

Boston followed up that dominant performance by winning 109-93 at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 21 for its fourth win in a row against the Knicks.

Now, the Celtics are looking to enter the All-Star break on an overall five-game winning streak after a 104-97 victory at Indiana on Monday.

"There's a long way to go," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of becoming the first team to reach 40 wins. "We're not looking at numbers or anything like that. We're looking at getting better and getting ready for the playoffs."

The current winning streak has come with Boston playing without forward Kevin Garnett (abdominal strain) and center Kendrick Perkins (strained left shoulder). Garnett, second on the team with 19.2 points per game and first with 9.9 rebounds, is expected to miss his ninth consecutive game, while Perkins could sit out his third.

Those absences haven't slowed down the Celtics, who are 6-2 without Garnett.

"That's no excuse for us," Celtics swingman Paul Pierce said. "Until those guys get back, we've got to hold down the fort."

Pierce, the team leader with 20.5 points per game, has picked up the scoring slack over the last two games, totaling 63 points and making 19 of 34 shots - 7-for-14 from 3-point range. He finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds and five assists against the Pacers.

Pierce will try to build on that against the Knicks, against whom he scored 21 points on Nov. 27 before being limited to 10 in the next meeting.

The Knicks, meanwhile, are last in the Atlantic, 26 games behind the Celtics.

New York is hoping to build on a 99-98 win at Milwaukee on Saturday, which halted a season high-tying eight-game slide. Jamal Crawford scored 30 points and helped the Knicks rally from a 17-point, third-quarter deficit.

"It almost felt like we won the championship," Crawford said. "We needed this win to break the cycle."

Crawford, who leads the team at 20.2 points per game, was held to eight in the loss at Boston, but rebounded with a 22-point performance on Jan. 21.

The Knicks reportedly will be without guard Stephon Marbury for the remainder of the season following ankle surgery, but coach Isiah Thomas said he hoped that wouldn't be the case.

"We still hope that it's indefinite. We haven't given up on him for the season yet," Thomas said. "Hopefully we'll have him back."

Marbury is listed as day-to-day, but has missed 16 games in a row.

With Marbury out again, the Knicks will likely again turn to swingman Fred Jones. The veteran swingman is averaging 15.0 points in starting the last four games, upping his season average to 6.5 points.