The New York Knicks (39–38) extended their win streak to four games on Tuesday night with a commanding 131–118 win against the Toronto Raptors (21–56) at Madison Square Garden, with sixth man Toney Douglas leading the way with 28 points.
Douglas scored 14 of his points in the fourth quarter to help fend off what could have been a Raptors comeback after Toronto trailed for most of the game by 20 points or more. Douglas had a dry spell in the third quarter, but finished the night overall shooting 10–15 in field goals including an impressive 6–9 from downtown.
Carmelo Anthony, who also had the hot hand from deep shooting 5–7 in 3-pointers and scoring 23 points, got the spark going early on for the Knicks in the first quarter. Toronto didn’t score for the first four minutes of the game, allowing New York to build an early lead that grew and stuck for the rest of the game.
Amar’e Stoudemire matched Anthony’s 23 points, while Chauncey Billups and Landry Fields reach double-digit scoring with 13 points and 10 points, respectively.
The Knicks closed out the first quarter up 39–26, and went into halftime up 78–54 in what was an absolute first half rout. A telling statistic at halftime was in 3-pointers; the Knicks as a team were 12–16 going to the half while the Raptors were 1–1. That one shot came from DeMar DeRozen in a wild heave at the buzzer.
DeRozen would come alive for Toronto in the second half, scoring 11 points in the third quarter and 12 points in the fourth quarter to lead a Raptors revival that got them to within 10 points midway through the fourth quarter.
But the Knickerbockers would have none of it, and battled Toronto back down the stretch to maintain a comfortable lead.
DeRozen finished the night with 36 points and 10 points and was backed up by fellow starting guard Jerryd Bayless (19 points) and reserve big man Ed Davis (22 points).
The Knicks next travel to Philadelphia on Wednesday face off against the 76ers in what is now a hotly contested battled for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
The 76ers, who suffered a 99–82 loss to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, are now just a half game ahead of New York for the sixth spot.
Douglas scored 14 of his points in the fourth quarter to help fend off what could have been a Raptors comeback after Toronto trailed for most of the game by 20 points or more. Douglas had a dry spell in the third quarter, but finished the night overall shooting 10–15 in field goals including an impressive 6–9 from downtown.
Carmelo Anthony, who also had the hot hand from deep shooting 5–7 in 3-pointers and scoring 23 points, got the spark going early on for the Knicks in the first quarter. Toronto didn’t score for the first four minutes of the game, allowing New York to build an early lead that grew and stuck for the rest of the game.
Amar’e Stoudemire matched Anthony’s 23 points, while Chauncey Billups and Landry Fields reach double-digit scoring with 13 points and 10 points, respectively.
The Knicks closed out the first quarter up 39–26, and went into halftime up 78–54 in what was an absolute first half rout. A telling statistic at halftime was in 3-pointers; the Knicks as a team were 12–16 going to the half while the Raptors were 1–1. That one shot came from DeMar DeRozen in a wild heave at the buzzer.
DeRozen would come alive for Toronto in the second half, scoring 11 points in the third quarter and 12 points in the fourth quarter to lead a Raptors revival that got them to within 10 points midway through the fourth quarter.
But the Knickerbockers would have none of it, and battled Toronto back down the stretch to maintain a comfortable lead.
DeRozen finished the night with 36 points and 10 points and was backed up by fellow starting guard Jerryd Bayless (19 points) and reserve big man Ed Davis (22 points).
The Knicks next travel to Philadelphia on Wednesday face off against the 76ers in what is now a hotly contested battled for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
The 76ers, who suffered a 99–82 loss to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, are now just a half game ahead of New York for the sixth spot.
