Thanks to a great performance behind former Toronto Raptor OG Anunoby, the New York Knicks took down Canada’s team 139-125 Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks, who are the league’s second-best team by offensive rating took it to a bottom 10 defensive team in the Raptors, as Toronto allowed the most points they have thus far this season.
The loss marked the Raps’ eighth in a row, their longest of the season and currently the longest streak in the NBA. Toronto now sits 7-23 on the year and has dropped to 1-13 on the road.
A 24-6 run in the middle of the second quarter, thanks to some great 3-point shooting, ballooned the Knicks’ lead, and they wouldn’t look back. New York would lead by 18 points at the half and outscored the Raptors 81-54 in the second and third frames combined.
After Fred VanVleet wasn’t very effective against his former on Sunday, Anunoby was great against the Raps on the second night of a back-to-back. Starting the game 11-for-11 from the field, the 27-year-old finished with 31 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and one steal while only missing two shots all night (13-for-15). The former Raptors wasn’t just scoring on easy open layups either, as he was hitting step backs, drilling looks from deep, and finishing through contact at the rim. Anunoby also finished as a game-high +25 on the night.
Karl-Anthony Towns was the other standout for the Knicks, as he followed up his dagger-three performance from a couple of weeks ago against the Raps with another great performance. The 29-year-old took full advantage of the Jakob Poeltl-less Raptors, going for 31 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, one steal and shot 11-for-15 from the field.
As for the Raptors, RJ Barrett made his return from an illness against his former team. It started slow for the Mississauga, Ontario native, but he would eventually find his groove, finishing with 23 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Barrett got downhill per usual while drawing a ton of contact, going to the charity stripe 11 times and draining eight shots.
The team’s leader in points last night was Scottie Barnes, who bounced back from one of his worst games of the year the previous night. After only mustering six points on 2-for-15 shooting from the field and 0-for-8 shooting from distance against the Houston Rockets, Barnes put in a much better performance at Madison Square Garden. The 23-year-old put up 24 points to go along with eight assists and three rebounds.
Unlike Barnes, Ja’Kobe Walter had a career night against the Rockets, going for a career-high 27 points and had another solid game against the Knicks. Coming off the bench in this one with the return of Barrett, Walter put up 16 points, two blocks, and a rebound and got to the free throw line at a remarkable rate, going 8-for-10 from the charity stripe.
Like Walter, Gradey Dick and Chris Boucher both also added 16 points as they affected the game in different ways. The second-year sharpshooter Dick added five rebounds, three assists, and two steals while Boucher was launching from beyond the arc, going 4-for-5 from distance.
Toronto, Ontario native A.J. Lawson debuted for the Raptors after signing a two-way contract two weeks ago, becoming the 10th Canadian ever to lace up for Toronto. He also scored his first points, cashing in on a catch-and-shoot three above the break, a shot that he has been great at down with the 905 thus far.
Canada’s team will now get two days off before closing out the 2024 calendar year with some tough matchups. They’ll begin the final stretch with a boxing day matinee against the Memphis Grizzlies, before matching up with the hot Atlanta Hawks and squaring off with the defending champions Boston Celtics on New Year’s Eve.
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