The Knicks improved to 10-1 at home with a 116-94 win over the Raptors
The Knicks built an early 24-point lead and, after a tough second quarter, rallied to win 116-94 over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night.
Here are some takeaways…
— In his seventh start of the season, Miles McBride he hit four 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the game to lead the Knicks over the Raptors. After his fourth three, McBride had made 14 of his last 17 attempts from beyond the arc (h/t Fred Katz). The warm hand began to spread like Jalen Brunson he hit his first 3-pointer of the night, scored inside and hit a baseline jump shot.
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Josh Hart he was then left unattended at the three-point line and took an easy two-handed slam as New York took a 32-17 lead and Toronto called a timeout with just under three minutes left in the first quarter. Clarkson hit two straight 3-pointers and forced another timeout, but it didn’t help Guerschón Yabusele buried the Knicks’ ninth three-pointer of the first quarter. They led 41-22 on 64 percent shooting from deep (9 of 14) compared to the Raptors’ 13 percent (1 of 8).
— Tyler Kolek he was all over the place early in the second quarter, grabbing an offensive rebound, scoring inside and getting a steal. Hart continued the impressive shooting with the tenth three of the game, but Scottie Barnes he made three consecutive triples, causing Mike Brown to discuss the situation with his group. The Raptors went on a 14-0 run to cut the lead to 10 points before McBride hit a shot.
After Sandro Mamukelashvili and Toronto had a five-point game, the Knicks grabbed three consecutive offensive rebounds and eventually capitalized Mikal Bridges hitting his second triple of the game. Brunson shook off a cold fourth with an and-one shot and then got a steal, leading to a bucket from Hart inside to push the lead back to double digits.
— Barnes dunked with one second left as the Raptors won the second quarter, 30-18, and trailed by just seven points, 59-52, at halftime. The Knicks’ three-point shooting disappeared in the second quarter, going 2-for-14 from deep. McBride still led the team with 14 points, while Brunson had 10 and Barnes paced Toronto with 16 points, including a perfect 4-of-4 from three.
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— Former Knick Emanuele Quickly he scored five consecutive goals for the Raptors in the third quarter before Brunson responded with a scoop and a layup. Then he quickly started chirping at Brunson and hit two more 3-pointers to cut New York’s lead to five points. He finished with 19 points for the game.
— Hart stepped up in the third and scored eight straight points, including three straight 3-pointers. Bridges dunked on the break to ignite the team and go up 84-68 with four minutes left in the quarter as New York went on a 16-1 run to reclaim their lead. Hart hit another 3-pointer with less than a minute left, giving him 20 points and the Knicks led 93-77 after three quarters.
— Kolek connected with Clarkson and City of Karl-Anthony for big dunks early in the fourth quarter, while Brandon Ingram he made three consecutive 3-pointers to keep the Raptors close. Mitchel Robinson he showed hustle and grabbed numerous offensive rebounds, but missed his foul shot and Towns recorded an O-board of his own and scored inside. KAT then made his first 3-pointer of the game to extend New York’s lead to 23 points, 106-83, with seven minutes left in the game.
The Knicks managed to empty the bench for the final 3:37 and held on to win, 116-94. Towns shook off early shooting woes to lead the team in scoring with 22 points, while Brunson finished with 18 points on 6-of-19 shooting. New York dominated the rebounding battle, 61-40, including 25 offensive rebounds (seven by Robinson), the most in a game since 2019.
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Game MVP: Josh Hart
Hart was at his best against the Raptors, giving the Knicks some much-needed energy in the third quarter after a poor end to the first half. He finished with 20 points, including four three-pointers, 12 rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
Highlights
What’s the next step?
The Knicks will travel to Boston to face the Celtics on Tuesday night at 8 p.m