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Before the season, a Toronto Raptors victory over the New York Knicks hardly would have certified as information. The Knicks have been coming off of a lottery season. The Raptors appeared like an ascending contender. But based mostly on simply the final a number of weeks? Toronto’s 113-106 victory over New York at Madison Square Garden qualifies as one of many season’s larger upsets.
The Knicks, behind Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle, had gained eight straight video games coming into Wednesday’s conflict. The Raptors, feeling the load of their restricted depth and beginning to hear commerce rumors involving their greatest gamers, had misplaced six in a row. But these few priceless Raptors have been greater than sufficient on Wednesday as Toronto snapped New York’s league-best successful streak behind one of many extra lopsided performances inside a single crew you will ever see.
Three Raptors mixed to attain 95 of Toronto’s 113 factors. Unsurprisingly, these Raptors have been OG Anunoby, Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam, who led the best way with a career-best 52 factors and amazingly managed to attain 17 straight Raptor factors to finish the third quarter.
The remainder of the crew scored simply 18 factors, and that allowed the Knicks to hold round and really almost swipe the sport. New York even led 102-101 with roughly two minutes to play, however some clutch shot-making down the stretch in addition to a key Malachi Flynn block of Immanuel Quickley sealed the victory.
Toronto’s depth stays an issue. Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes has scored simply eight factors on 4-of-19 taking pictures in Toronto’s final two video games, and each Siakam and VanVleet topped 40 minutes but once more within the victory. The Knicks, in the meantime, appeared pretty robust in defeat. Randle and R.J. Barrett every scored 30, and the protection held up surprisingly nicely total within the absence of Quentin Grimes. While there have been particular person outliers, the general tendencies dictating every crew’s season largely held. But for 48 minutes on Wednesday, the Raptors reminded the basketball world what was so tantalizing about their expertise within the first place, and within the course of ended one of many NBA’s most spectacular current streaks.
