The Knicks almost left behind their trip to Toronto. Facing a rough team, which played hard until the end, New York initially suffered, losing Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson in turn to injury in the third quarter. Fortunately for Tom Thibodeau's gang, the two quickly returned to the field and were able to finish strong to snatch victory from the Raptors.
The Canadians were the first to attack, including outside address for RJ Barrett twice, Ochai Agbaji, and Davion Mitchell (19-13). In control, the Knicks did what was necessary to get back on track fairly quickly. The 3-pointers of Miles McBride and Jalen Brunson launched the revolt, followed by a 13-2 initiated by the dunk with the fault of the ghost Precious Achiuwa and concluded by Mikal Bridges (27-34). With the long-range arrows from Cameron Payne and Miles McBride, then the dunk from OG Anunoby, the other coming back from the evening, New York perhaps took a little too easy, and was punished in the process (38- 48). The Raptors were able to come back with their aggressiveness in defense and their speed of execution in attack to go 13-0 in less than three minutes and regain the lead at halftime (61-60).
Towns on a cloud
The Knicks were warned but the Canadians were on their way, and did not give up so easily after returning from the locker room. Unleashed, Scottie Barnes went 8-2 on his own with two 3-point baskets before going out injured (71-66). Perhaps the turning point of the match, even if RJ Barrett then took over by adding three baskets including an alley-oop in transition and a free throw to keep the locals in the lead 12 minutes from the end (86-83 ).
The last quarter quickly took on the air of “money time”, each team going blow for blow until the end, with the Brunson-Bridges-Towns trio on one side and Davion Mitchell, RJ Barrett and the pair Walter-Mogbo on the other. But in the last three minutes, it was undoubtedly Karl-Anthony Towns who was the hero at the end of the match, between his two assists for the 3-points of Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson and his fatal sequence, with a lay -up, good defense on RJ Barrett (blocked by OG Anunoby) and the 3-point victory 6 seconds from the buzzer (108-113).
WHAT TO REMEMBER
Scottie Barnes gets injured… Clearly, Scottie Barnes is not spared from injuries. While he had just made two 3-point baskets in a row, the inside of the Raptors landed very badly on the foot of Karl-Anthony Towns, visibly causing him a lot of pain and above all signaling the end of his match with a immediate return to the locker room. Perhaps the unfortunate turning point of this game for the Raptors.
…and Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns too. The two leaders of the Knicks also gave of themselves. Karl-Anthony Towns was the first to suffer as he also took time to get up when Scottie Barnes fell on him. Then, on the next possession, it was his left ankle which turned in turn, taking support on the foot of Davion Mitchell. Here too, the ankle turned well, but the inside was able to hold its place until the end, to deliver a flamboyant finale.
Same thing for Jalen Brunson, who briefly returned to the locker room after a stroke of bad luck. After missing a 3-pointer, the New York leader returned to defense without looking where he was stepping. In his race, he stepped on the foot… of a spectator! He too gritted his teeth to come back, and was rewarded by his great end to the match, punctuated by a decisive 3+1 for the Knicks.
The “7 seconds or less” with Canadian flavor. The Raptors may not have as much talent as the competition, but they play at 200 miles an hour, with a lot of heart, energy and desire. We thus had the new demonstration of the “Rajakovic touch”, which asks its players to exploit transition situations as much as possible. The latter followed the instructions by taking up the precepts of “7 seconds or less” put in place by Mike D'Antoni twenty years ago at the Suns, notably on the 13-0 passed by Toronto before the break. In this sequence which lasted less than three minutes, five of the six baskets were scored with less than 7 seconds left on the clock.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
