The Raptors clearly took the Knicks’ second stringers too lightly, and found themselves in a tight game. However, Toronto’s defense stiffened while their shooters found the range late.
The Toronto Raptors were a step slow defensively for far too long against the also-ran New York Knicks. Fortunately Toronto’s players overcame whatever sleep deprivation they might have suffered due to the absurd tip-off time of noon. In the game’s final quarter, they seized control on both ends of the floor and rolled to a solid win.
DeMar DeRozan was the best player on the floor, and the Knicks had no one capable of slowing down his scoring. Our shooting guard needed only 15 shots to score 35 points in 3 quarters, helped hugely by trips to the free-throw. He was 13 of 15 from there.
Rotation guys showed up
The Raptors bench has been mediocre to downright bad recently, particularly on offense, but that wasn’t the case at Madison Square Garden on this afternoon. Coach Dwane Casey turned over responsibility to his rotation players in Q4, despite a shaky one-point lead. Patrick Patterson rediscovered (we hope!) his outside shooting stroke, draining 3 long balls. Jabok Poeltl enjoyed a fine 12 minutes in relief of Jonas Valanciunas, making all four shots he tried (admittedly, one was a questionable goal-tending call). P.J. Tucker drained 2 3-balls and was his usual bouncy, trouble-making self on D. Kyle was the only starter to remain on the floor, and guided his mates to as much as an 18-point lead.
Lowry closed with 11 assists, including 5 in the decisive fourth, and was plus_18.
Norman Powell hit the floor for all of nine seconds in Q4 before a bash in the nose brought blood and his forced departure. Hopefully there’s no broken bones.
Knicks aren’t competitive
For the Knicks, Spanish centre/forward Willy Hernangomez looked like an NBA starter-grade player. However, with Kristaps Porzingis and Carmelo Anthony shut down, the other New Yorkers did well just to hang around for 36 minutes. They will need a lot more than hustle to get their ship turned around.
The Raptors enjoy two days off before closing the season in Cleveland. Our guys are almost certainly locked in for third in the Eastern Conference.
Putbacks: The Raptors’ only blocked shot was by Lowry…Lucas Nogueira was the lone Raptor not to get on the floor…Fred VanVleet’s backcourt running mate at Wichita State, Ron Baker, looked solid – like Fred, he was undrafted…Unlike Fred, Baker walked on the university team