Raptors: Winners and Losers from impressive victory against Knicks

OG Anunoby and the Toronto Raptors went into their first 2021-22 meeting against the rival New York Knicks without many of their home run hitters in the lineup alongside Gary Trent Jr. and Fred VanVleet. In addition to Pascal Siakam continuing to recover from his shoulder injury, Scottie Barnes didn’t suit up due to an issue with his thumb.

On top of that, they were facing a Knicks team that came into this contest at 5-1 while getting standout performances from a star in the making in Julius Randle and one of the best young offensive talents in the NBA in RJ Barrett. Nevertheless, Toronto welcomed the challenge head-on and gave the Knicks their best shot.

The Raptors went down by as many as 15 in the second quarter, yet they managed to come back and beat the Knicks by a scoreline of 113-104. A 3-point barrage that started near the end of the second quarter and extended well into the third was enough to push Toronto to the victory.

The Raptors should be completely euphoric after a marquee road win against one of the best teams in the NBA. They had plenty of stars in this game, but those standouts had to overcome one or two duds.

Winners and Losers after the Toronto Raptors beat the Knicks.

Winner: OG Anunoby

Anunoby was going to be the main offensive catalyst in this game, as he was going to get an increase in volume without Barnes on the floor. While he started off a bit sluggishly, Anunoby caught fire as soon as the first quarter ended and pulled off his best offensive showing of the season.

OG Anunoby had arguably his best game ever for the Toronto Raptors.

Anunoby set a new career-high with 36 points in this game, drilling four 3-pointers and using his size to muscle towards the rim and get easy shots. Anunoby needed to take that next step as an offensive option, and he showed everyone what he could do in this absolute masterclass.

Winner: Gary Trent Jr.

The Trent resurgence continued last night, as he showed that his improvement on defense and skill on the offensive end is by no means fraudulent. Trent was brought in to provide instant scoring and shooting, and he torched the Knicks in his best 2021 game to date when it comes to putting the ball in the basket.

Trent scored 26 points, making 10 of his 22 shots and four of his 11 3-point attempts. While Khem Birch deserves an honorable mention for his ability to secure the paint, Trent was once again sensational on both ends in a game where the Raptors needed every 3-pointer and defensive stop they could get.

Loser: Precious Achiuwa

Achiuwa has ended up in the loser section for the second time in a row, and it’s clear to see why. Achiuwa is struggling, and he’s forcing all sorts of unusual shots in order to break out of that slump. That has led to some horrific stats and some plays that make you question what the heck he’s actually thinking.

The Toronto Raptors need to bench Precious Achiuwa.

Achiuwa played just 17 minutes, yet was somehow a -11. After going 1-9 shooting, with his only make being an alley-oop finish, Nurse finally put him with the second unit in favor of Khem Birch. Achiuwa is clearly struggling and trying too hard to make up for it, and a change in the rotation might be in order to get him on the right track.

Loser: Julius Randle

Randle was unstoppable in the first quarter, scoring 18 points in the first quarter and killing Toronto from deep. Nick Nurse did a good job of identifying how Randle was beating them and switching things up because he only scored four points in the remaining three quarters.

Part of that can be attributed to Anunoby starting to pick it up on the defensive end and part of it is on Randle himself for missing shots. Still, after such a hot start to this season, Randle ended this game with one of the worst three-quarter efforts you’ll see from him all year.