Canada Sports News

The Toronto Raptors posted their sixth straight win, this time defeating the New York Knicks at the Madison Square Garden, 118-112.

Raptors’ leading duo, Lowry-Siakam led the way combining for 49 points and creating a lot of troubles for the hosts’ defense. The latter one was voted to be a starter for the upcoming All-Star match, which motivated him to play even better. Nick Nurse spoke about Siakam’s magnificent rise over the past two years, saying that hard work and dedication were the two key reasons for that.

“It’s a hell of a climb in a couple of years, and I think not only for him,” Nurse said. “I’ve always said this repeatedly, he went to work on his game and he put in some serious time and had some great.”

Although Nurse’s side lost the aerial battle, with the Knicks posting 56 boards, 19 more than the champs, that didn’t reflect upon the final result.

Strong control of the pace, and tough defense in the moments when needed the most, were the crucial factors for Toronto’s another win.

The Knicks opened this one better, reaching a 26-13 lead with two and a half minutes left in the first period. Mike Miller’s guys surprised the Raps, but they simply didn’t have enough juice to keep that tempo until the end.

Already in the second quarter, we saw a furious comeback of the visitors who scored 13 unanswered points midway through the sequence, tightening up the defense, which immediately gave results. After taking over the lead, Toronto never looked back again, although New York stayed close.

“I think we’re battle-tested,” Siakam said. “We are a team that has guys that understand what it takes to win, and when everything is not going right, don’t panic and continue to play.”

The Most Improved Player of the previous season scored 23 points, had 7 boards and one block. Lowry delivered 26 with 6 boards and four steals. Toronto’s point guard missed just one of his 14 free-throw attempts.

Fred VanVleet had 16 buckets but nine assists to that, while Serge Ibaka and Norman Powell contributed with 14, and 16 points off the bench.

On the other side, three Knicks’ players had 20+ points. Marcus Morris Sr. had 21, same as Damyean Dotson, while Julius Randle posted exactly 20 with 11 boards. Morris had 10 rebounds.

“Well, it’s tough because we competed the entire game,” he said, following the event. “Definitely tough to keep losing like that.”

The Knicks are playing better than at the start of the season, but they are still far away from being a respectable squad. Mike Miller needs to find a way to make his team consistent, and also, add at least two more star players before we see NY in the playoff race.

Toronto, meanwhile, posted the 31st win of the season and with 14 losses sits behind the Milwaukee Bucks tied with the Miami Heat in the second place of the Eastern Conference. Their next opponents are the San Antonio Spurs on the road.

The Knicks await Brooklyn Nets, and both games are on Sunday.