Kyle Lowry's Triple-Double And Dismal Defense Lead To New York Knicks' Demise Against Toronto Raptors

After defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 103-95 on Saturday night at the Target Center, the New York Knicks were looking to win their second straight game. Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors defended their home court on Sunday night and earned a 98-85 win against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Lopez Give Knicks Lead Early On

Robin Lopez, who came off a 26 point performance in the last contest, started the game making 6 of 7 field goals and scored 12 points in the first quarter. New York shot 46 percent from the floor and outscored their opponents 28-26, in the first period. They forced three Toronto turnovers and limited themselves to only one.

Knicks Could Not Get Stops

In the final seven minutes of the second frame, Toronto started a 24-7 run that concluded until halftime. New York, who entered the game leading the league in free throws made, missed six consecutive attempts and were outscored 31-15 in the second stanza of the game. After two quarters, the Knicks were trailing by 14 points. Their shooting percentage had dropped to 39 while the Raptors’ increased to 57 percent.

New York showed a slight sign of a comeback during the 9:53 mark of the third period by cutting the lead to just seven, however, the Raptors quickly increased their lead once again with the help of DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas. DeRozan scored 10 and Valanciunas contributed with 11 points to help Toronto push the lead up to 18. The Knicks defense continued to show some holes and allowed their opponents to display another high scoring quarter of 29 points.

In the final 12 minutes of the game, Kristaps Porzingis picked up his scoring and dropped 10 points, though Toronto continued to having their way offensively. New York would have no answer and fell to the Raptors for a second time this season.

Top Performers

Carmelo Anthony contributed with 23 points, 11 boards and 5 assists. Porzingis ended with 17 points and Lopez tallied 21. In addition to his triple double, Lowry also went 6 of 6 from the free throw line. DeRozan concluded with 22 points while Valanciunas finished with 20. The Raptors’ bench shined with 42 points.

Knicks Quotes

In the post game interview, New York head coach Kurt Rambis, said “We need to do a much better job stopping the ball. We just weren't connected defensively all night”. Anthony added “It doesn’t have anything to do with Xs and Os. We gotta take the challenge as a group.”

Other Things To Note

With tonight’s victory, DeRozan surpassed Chris Bosh to have the most wins by a player with the Raptors at 233.

Jimmer Fredette, who recently signed a 10-day contract with the Knicks, made his debut in the final minute of the game with the New York crowd cheering him on. Fredette responded to the cheers by converting on a 3-pointer and got the crowd more excited.