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Like numbers? Check these out. Tonight the Knicks (40*-22) outshot the Raptors (35-26) 56% to 45%, piled up 32 assists on 46 baskets, and dominated the glass 44–28. This marked their third consecutive game with all five starters scoring in double figures, and the 11th time in their last 19 games they’ve held an opponent under 100 points. Even better: it was their 12th straight victory over Toronto, meaning RJ Barrett (20 PTS) has yet to taste victory against his former team. Sure, the game stayed closer than it should have for longer than they’d like, but in the end the Knicks captured the fourth game of their five-game season series, 111-95.
The opening minutes were scrappy. Toronto received strong two-way play from Scottie Barnes (14 PTS), who effectively neutralized Jalen Brunson (26 PTS, 10 AST) while knocking down a triple on the offensive end. Brandon Ingram (31 PTS) added a pair of threes, a tip-in, and a block on Mikal Bridges (11 PTS). For New York, Karl-Anthony Towns (21 PTS, 13 RBS) made his presence felt early with two buckets, a block on Ingram, and solid work on the boards and as a facilitator. OG Anunoby, intimately familiar with these rims, shot a flawless 4-of-4 for 11 first-quarter points.
When the Knicks’ offense stalled, they fell behind by 10. But they closed the quarter on a 15-4 surge—fueled by free throws from Brunson and Anunoby, plus a three-pointer from Mohamed Diawara (8 PTS) off the bench—to grab a 32-31 lead heading into the second period. New York shot efficiently at 63% (12-of-19) and moved the ball crisply, recording 10 assists on 12 field goals.
Jose Alvarado (4 PTS, 5 AST, +19) took over point guard duties to open the second quarter. Immediately pressuring Immanuel Quickley (13 PTS 12 AST), he forced a tie-up that sent the ex-Knick scrambling to call timeout. Then out of the break, the discombobulated Canadians committed a five-second inbound violation. Meanwhile, Towns thrived in the period, pouring in nine points before his third foul sent him to the bench.
The Raptors tied the game around the 10 minute mark, but New York responded with a 15-2 run. Landry Shamet (12 PTS) contributed seven straight points during that stretch, while fellow reserve Diawara knocked down a triple. Toronto answered with six unanswered, but Brunson and Josh Hart (12 PTS, 7 RBS, 7 AST) stemmed the tide to restore a double-digit cushion. Hart capped the half by stuffing a Quickley drive at the buzzer, sending New York to the locker room up 68-58.
Through two quarters, the visitors were shooting 68% overall and 50% from three, while dominating the paint 34-24. New York’s ball movement was crisp (22 assists on 28 made baskets) and they controlled the boards 20-13. Defensively, they held Toronto to 50% shooting and just 27% from deep. Ingram topped all scorers with 26 points on 14 attempts, while Anunoby led the Knicks with 14 points on perfect shooting.
The Knicks left their defense in the dressing room. The Raptors surged on an 11-3 run, scoring from inside and out to whittle their deficit to two. Quickley and Ingram drilled triples, and Jakob Poeltl added a floater during the stretch. After that, Hart answered with back-to-back buckets and Landry Shamet swished his second three-ball to help restore a ten-point cushion.
Our heroes committed a pair of turnovers—including an inbound blunder under Toronto’s basket—and missed a few makeable shots, while the Canucks rattled off an 8-0 run. With the lead trimmed to two, Captain Clutch swished a corner three to restore some breathing room before the break, and Alvarado added a steal at the buzzer. Heading into the final frame, the good guys held an 87-82 edge.
The Dinos kept clawing, and the Knicks made mental errors in the early minutes of the fourth. A shot-clock violation and one-and-done misses allowed the North to stick around. Bridges hit the gas, attacking the lane aggressively and shooting over the long arms of Poeltl. Brunson answered a Barrett layup with back-to-back jumpers, but Barrett came back with a trey. Another one-and-done possession, off a Shamet miss, became a Quickley floater. With just under six minutes to go, a mere two points separated the teams.
With three-ish minutes to go, both teams looked gased while the refs swallowed their whistles. The Knicks got some relief with Brunson connected from downtown, extending their lead to seven again. Barnes and Ingram both missed on subsequent trips down the floor, while Towns and Hart combined for an 8-2 run. When Brunson made a floater and free-throw, the difference was 14 points with a minute left. Roll the credits!
Here’s Your Mo Diawara appreciation clip of the night.
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Quoth Jaybugkit, “Kept them under 100 again!” Ain’t it graind? Now our heroes hurry back across the border for a tussle with the Thunder tomorrow. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.
* Should be one more, but NBA Cup wins are nothing burgers.