The Toronto Raptors have easily routed New York Knicks, posting a 126-98 win at the Scotiabank Arena last night. Hosts would start the game slowly but woke up afterward to tear apart the guests who didn’t have the solution on how to prevent the defeat.
Knicks started playing much better in the middle of the first and managed to close this sequence with a 29-21 lead. However, that didn’t last for too long, as the Raptors increased the tempo on both sides of the court, especially on defense, allowing the guests to score just two points in almost five minutes into the second quarter. This period ended with Toronto outscoring the Knicks 37-17.
“We started lackadaisical a bit and then figured it out end of the first, start of the second and that’s all you look for,” said VanVleet. “Just try to keep getting better and take each win where you can get it.”
What carried the Raptors in this contest were the three-pointers. Nick Nurse’s team dropped 21 of them, in 41 attempts, for a fantastic 51.2%. The hosts managed to tie the single-game franchise record.
Pascal Siakam, who scored five downtown hits, tied his personal best too, and one of the best players in the league scored 31 points last night, adding 8 rebounds. After the game, Nurse stated that he believes that Siakam has a lot of room for improvement and that this is not his full potential. Particularly because of his work ethics.
“Maybe I’m wrong. He seems to cut all my timelines in about half or, you know, more than that sometimes,” said Nurse. “But I keep saying this, when he went to work on it, he went to work on it.”
VanVleet added 15 points, OG Anunoby 13, but with 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Raptors bench was superb in this match, with four players with 10 or more points. Terence Davis had 15, Malcolm Miller 13, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 12, and Chirs Boucher posted a double-double, 13 buckets, and 12 boards.
On the other side, the struggling Knicks looked pretty bad apart from the opening part of the contest. Canada’s RJ Barrett, the third pick from this year’s NBA draft, ended the night with 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. However, the Toronto-born guard’s shooting night wasn’t that shiny, as he made just five of his 17 shots. Barrett received big ovations from the crowd who welcomed him warmly during the introduction.
“I’m playing basketball,” he said. “That’s the light that I see. I get to play basketball every day.”
Besides him, Julius Randle scored 19 for the Knicks (4-14) and had 8 boards, while Allonzo Trier had 10 points off the bench. These three guys were the only ones with double-digit scoring productivity among the visitors.
Coming up, they have a clash with the Philadelphia 76ers this Friday, and the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
On the other side, the Raptors (13-4) go to Florida to play against the Magic, and after that, have three games at home, against the Jazz, Heat and the Rockets.
