The New York Knicks had an emphatic win against their Atlantic Division opponents on Sunday night, as the Toronto Raptors, down two starters, got an uncomfortable first meeting against their NBA Cup opponents. The Knicks rode the momentum of unstoppable scoring in the first quarter to a victory against the Raps, who despite a strong comeback, were never able to equalize or get ahead of their opponents.
The Knicks began the game by feasting on the perimeter. Miles McBride hit four-threes in the opening quarter. Raptors defence looked a little loose while the Knicks suffocated Toronto. Ingram’s shot wasn’t falling, and as Karl Anthony-Towns muscled his way into the paint through the Raptors double, things looked awkward for the Raps. Off of a time-out, Jamal Shead came into the game, and immediately made his presence known with a drive for two. The Raptors had a great possession, showcasing great ball movement and offensive rebounding with Colin Murray-Boyles taking great care of the ball. Nevertheless, the Knicks’ offence was absolutely overwhelming, shooting at will, and making contested threes as easily as they would open layups. The final Raptors possession of the quarter was punctuated by a CMB slam off a Jamal Shead assist, a small consolation for the Raptors who limped into the second quarter down 19.
CMB did the same thing to start off the second quarter, jamming it home with authority, despite the Knicks’ continued scoring downpour. A trifecta of threes from Scottie Barnes brought the lead to within 15 points, as the big forward dropped in buckets from long range to keep Toronto in the game. Toronto found its footing as CMB pulled in boards, and Immanuel Quickley dropped in buckets from range, bringing the difference to 10 points. Off a Sandro Mamukelashvili free throw, the lead was finally brought down to single digits as the Knicks cooled off and Toronto heated up. CMB continued to be a force in the interior, drawing in rebounds like a black hole, and would finish the game with 8. Toronto and New York played tug-of-war over the lead’s single or double digit status. On Toronto’s last possession, Immanuel Quickley bounce pass to an open Scottie Barnes gave him a two-handed jam to send the Raptors into the half down only seven, an early rout prevented.
Ingram started off the third with a nice layup, as the Knicks started to go to Towns in the painted area, bullying his way to points, with New York no longer as successful from three. Like his teammate in the last quarter, Immanuel Quickley dropped in three threes in quick succession. Finally, off an Ochai Agbaji tip-in, the Knicks lead was cut to a single possession for the first time in many minutes, 67-70. Little by little, the Knicks clawed their way back to a comfortable lead, as a pair of Josh Hart threes sealed the deal, bringing the score to 80-68, Knicks. The boys from Villanova continued to carve out a larger lead, as Hart and Mikal Bridges played a duet on the court, bringing in buckets with ease. Hart would finish the game with a double double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. With less than a minute left, CMB continued to earn his minutes, dropping in two twos in quick succession for his tenth point of the outing. The Raptors would be down 16 heading into the fourth quarter.
A missed lob from Scottie Barnes followed by a Jordan Clarkson dunk was an ugly way to begin the game’s final period, as Brandon Ingram’s three point shooting kept the New York lead from staying at 20 points for long. Ingram led the team in turnovers, with only 14 points, less than five minutes remaining in the contest. The Raptors continued their impotence, unable to get their offence going as the Knicks fought their way back to a twenty point lead. Raptors pulled their starters for garbage time, the gains of the second quarter unrealized. Neither team scored much towards the end, as the game played itself out, the outcome realized long before, a 116-94 victory for the Knicks. New York has set the tone of the season series, which will be duked out again on the 9th of December as a part of the NBA Cup.
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