Knicks 120, Raptors 103: “Riding through the city right now you can just feel the buzz and the excitement!!”
The Knicks have now won nine straight games, this time beating a Raptors team that usually gives them fits handily at home on the Madison Square Garden floor, 120-103.
The New York Knicks brought in a 33-27 record and a sterling eight-game winning streak into a Sunday matinee with the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors have not been their usual Eastern Conference elite selves so far this year, but to me, that game will always be a measuring stick.
This is a team that has always championed to be everything the Knicks are not. Smart trades (often at the expense of the Knicks). Homegrown talent. Player development. Modern offense. Switchable defense. The Knicks have made a ton of strides this season to become a legitimately good team, and yet, beating the Raptors (yes, again) would mean a lot not just to continue the winning streak, but to beat a divisional foe who used to look at them like fodder.
The Knicks did not disappoint. But early on, the Raptors certainly made it clear they had come to play. They would not be a victim to the famous weekend New York afternoon hangover. One-time Knicks fan free agent target Fred VanVleet was cooking from the get go, and the Raptors’ switch-ability and swarming defense — collapsing the paint and trapping Knicks ball handlers — caused problems. The Raptors jumped out to an 18-13 lead after a back-and-forth beginning. Then, Derrick Rose entered the game, and the Knicks punched back.
Julius Randle and RJ Barrett made back-to-back threes and Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson began to play a nice two-man game, flashing shades of Tom Thibodeau’s glory days coaching those Chicago Bulls teams. Gibson turned back the clock with a beautiful spin move and finger roll against Pascal Siakam, and the Garden was rocking.
Meanwhile, Derrick Rose continued his magical floater game — which has both bailed the Knicks out of stagnant possessions as well as been a key source of offense for the past few games — and the Knicks went to the first quarter break with a 30-26 lead.
And then there was Obi Toppin. Continuing a stretch of games where he has not just eaten minutes while Randle’s getting rest, but legitimately adding value with his motor, energy, and athleticism, this time Obi decided to show off the jumper. He hit a corner three off of a beautiful feed from Rose to kick off the scoring in the second quarter.
Not to be outdone, his fellow rookie Immanuel Quickley hit a Lillard-esque step-back 3-pointer that surely had a lot of Knicks fans having to change their pants. STOP PUTTING A CEILING ON MY GUY.
Quickley’s three put the Knicks up eight, but the Raptors would not go away. Rose would keep the Knicks’ offense alive, exploiting Malachi Flynn and driving to the rim for layups and fouls. The Knicks had a 7-point lead, but then, of course, it was Julius Randle time again.
Randle continued to show off his improved jump shot, hitting step-backs, coming off screens, and abusing anyone (Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, you name it) who dared to come in his path. He would finish the first half 4-5 from three.
Reggie Bullock, consistently one of the Knicks’ most reliable sources of offense of late, also got in on the act. Quickley showed the poise of a vet, snaking a pick-and-roll and throwing a cross-court pass to a moving Bullock right in his shooting pocket for an open three. Then, Bullock hit another three off of a Randle kick-out and the Knicks’ lead was back up to eight. He would make it three in a row moments later off of a pass from Derrick Rose.
The Raptors continued to fight, with a 3-pointer by Anunoby closing the gap to 64-59 going into the half. IQ nearly drew three free throws in a buzzer-beating scenario before the half, but the referees (hip to his tricks and with a slight anti-NY bent all afternoon) did not say it was in the act of shooting.
After a boisterous second quarter in which the Knicks scored 34 points, the offense stagnated to start the second half, as the Raptors’ traps and willingness to leave Elfrid Payton open clogged driving lanes and slowed down the Knicks’ offense. A couple of transition layups from Fred VanVleet (who was terrific all afternoon) cut the Knicks’ lead to one. An above-the-break 3-pointer from RJ and a floater from Payton kept the Raptors at arm’s length and pushed the lead back to six, but Knicks fans familiar with Siakam’s 28% mark from 3-point range must have been punching whatever objects were nearby when he hit a three to halve the Knicks’ lead.
Siakam hit two more free throws to cut the lead to one, and a bad Payton turnover led to two more free throws that allowed the Raptors to take a 70-69 lead. Siakam would hit yet another 3-pointer and the Knicks’ offense struggled to find much else beyond Randle’s elite perimeter shot-making. The idea that Randle’s pull-up gravity would be so great that a top-five defender in Anunoby would foul him on a 3-pointer would have seemed crazy a year ago… but these are the times we live in, Knicks fans.
Randle hit a 3-pointer to put the Knicks up one and nearly had another 3-point assist but was a beat too late and got called for an offensive foul. The paint was crammed and Rose came into the game. And, to quote the immortal Bradley Nowell… THAT’S WHEN THINGS GOT OUT OF CONTROL.
After the Raptors took the lead, Barrett found Bullock in transition for a layup. Then, Rose added two free throws to put the Knicks up three. Rose would hit another floater (which is starting to become his signature shot), and then Barrett absolutely barbecued Yuta Watanabe on a switch to put the Knicks up five, which would be the margin the Knicks would take into the fourth quarter. Could they close against their long-time nemesis to make it an unprecedented nine straight wins?
The answer was “yes.” A lineup of Rose, Quickley, Barrett, Toppin, and Gibson decided to send the Raptors back to the Jurassic. Quickley started the action by hitting a deep three off a gorgeous kick-out from Rose. RJ powered to the hole to hit an and-one, and another great pass from Quickley led to Obi’s second 3-pointer of the game to put the Knicks up 14. The Raptors briefly stopped the bleeding with a Watanabe three, but the Knicks would not relent. Rose drove to the hoop for an easy two and yet. A. NOTHER. Toppin three put the Knicks up 16 and forced a Toronto timeout.
And the rest was, should we say, academic. The Raptors would cut the Knicks lead to seven late (ugh, another Siakam three), but the Knicks rifled off 10 straight to win by 17. Nearly everyone had a terrific game, and the Knicks showed that even with their defense having a somewhat uneven performance, this team is capable of lighting it up from three and putting up a ton of points when they need to.
Notes
Randle has been at 40-plus percent from three for the vast majority of the year. And yet, being me, I always wondered if there were things that would make it not last. “Well, can he do it on more volume?” Then he increased his 3PA per game to 5.3 from four. “Well, okay, but this is mostly catch-and-shoot. If he could pull up or even hit step-backs and side-steps… man, then we’d be talking.” And now Julius is doing that too while maintaining his absurd efficiency — 41% from three, and 45% on long midrange. And today he did it against a terrific pair of wing defenders in Anunoby and Siakam. No matter. Randle put up a casual 31 and 10 on 10-17 from the field (including 5-8 from three) in a performance that feels all too familiar now for Knicks fans.
And yet, perhaps the most impressive thing about Randle today was his defense. Circling back to the “modern, ahead of the Knicks” vibe the Raptors had, they have for several years now been able to pair versatile offensive wings who can score at three levels and cause matchup issues along with some feisty guards at opponents. But Randle was up to any task that was asked of him on defense. He did an outstanding job moving his feet and walling up against Siakam, getting physical and closing out on Anunoby, and even shutting down Fred VanVleet on a couple of switches. This was an absolute masterclass on both ends from Julius. Shame on us if we ever take him for granted.
Every great quarterback has a safety blanket. Someone who can always get free and make a play. Randle is the Knicks’ QB and Bullock is his safety blanket. A Bullock catch-and-shoot three may legitimately be the most reliable source of offense for the Knicks. Fresh off a 6-11 performance from three against the Hawks, Bullock chipped in 16 points on 6-10 shooting (and 3-7 from three) while providing spirited perimeter defense. He has really upped the volume from three this year, and he needs very little time to get his shot off. In addition, he has done a great job of relocation and hunting open shots with his off-ball movement, and has been invaluable as a floor spacer, particularly in the starting lineup.
RJ didn’t have many stretches where it seemed like he was taking over… and yet he finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists (against just two turnovers) on 8-16 shooting. He missed a couple of 3-pointers he’s been hitting… and still finished 3-7. Most impressive today was his confidence and poise attacking the rim, particularly against mismatches. He had a grown man bucket in the third quarter, pulling up from just below the free throw line and banking in a shot despite getting hit. And when Yuta (and other poor dinosaurs) got switched on him, he was aggressive and calling for clear outs to ruthlessly exploit the mismatch. Randle has been the most impressive player, and his turnaround has been spectacular, but RJ’s improvement is right up there. He is a legit No. 2 option and plays both ways. To think many of us once thought he was the third player in a two-player draft… seems laughable now.
And every time I sing one Knick’s praises, it feels like there’s another one being left out. The Knicks are now 18-7 in games where Derrick Rose plays. The offense has undoubtedly been more fluid and improved since the All-Star break, but still goes through periods of stagnation. Well, in that case, call Derrick Rose “The Defibrillator,” because he always gets a bucket when we need one. I tweeted early in the game that I liked Rose’s scoring, but I hoped he would not fall in love with the floater. Well, he fell in love with it, and it didn’t matter, because he was hitting every one. Rose shot 7-10 for the field and finished with 19 points in 33 minutes, but he played the floor general too. It’s so fun to watch him push the ball and actively look for teammates. Obi looks like a different player when he gets to play with Rose, and Quickley has benefitted with open looks too, while Rose and Taj have seemingly rekindled their chemistry from the Chicago days. Rose would finish with seven assists to just one turnover and commanded the Knicks’ offense, often coming in after periods of stagnancy or over-reliance on Randle magic. He also finished with a game-high +26 (RJ was +23) and to the eye, that seems about right.
Quickley didn’t take many shots, but he made his presence felt. The step-back in the first half showed the kind of star (yes, STAR) potential he has, and he held up well on defense, forcing a turnover against one-time “should we have taken him over Quickley” draft prospect Malachi Flynn. VanVleet cooked him a couple of times, but for stretches there he was doing that to everyone. Most impressively, Quickley once again continued to show off his passing skills, hitting Toppin and Bullock on crosscourt passes for threes and consistently looking to make the right play. In fact, his only really bad play was passing up an open catch-and-shoot to try to pass the ball to Bullock on the other side. A mistake, to be sure, but an encouraging one in the sense that it shows Quickley wants to be more than a chucker. Six points on 2-5 shooting and two assists to one turnover in 20 minutes isn’t lighting the world on fire, but is very good for his role, and his spacing clearly helps Rose, RJ, and others in ways that don’t show up in the box score.
Obi got hot from three, but beyond that, continued to show that he can add value to this team. He is tenacious on the glass, sticking his nose in and using his athleticism to continue possessions. He runs the floor, and even when he isn’t rewarded, his gravity at the rim scrambles defenses and creates open looks in transition for the Knicks’ suddenly deep stable of shooters. He’s going to be fine, and the mental toughness he’s shown by finding ways to contribute — even though he’s not in an optimal role and is backing up an All-Star — is just as impressive as his play.
Taj turned back the clock with some terrific finishing, including cooking Siakam. Coming into today, Gibson was shooting 74% at the rim, according to Basketball-Reference. He doesn’t get much lift, but his combination of guile, touch, and strength makes him a very reliable finisher. On defense, he struggled a bit with the speed of some of the Raptors’ perimeter players, but was a force on the glass and gave the Knicks very good minutes.
Today was a bit of a quieter game for Nerlens Noel. He did have four blocks, including one of his now daily “why are you trying to dunk this, DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?” destructions, this time against Siakam. He did have a nice floater from three feet out early in the game. Noel’s offense has been more reliable of late, and it’s clear his teammates have started to trust him more instead of forcing up shots. His hands will never be great, but RJ, Julius, Elf, and others have figured out ways to get him shots in places he’s comfortable.
Bad game for Elfrid Payton, and once again it was clear how much smoother the Knicks’ offense looked with Rose and Quickley playing in his place. To his credit, Payton did try to pass the ball more today and had a couple of nice looks to Noel, but the results overall were not good, as he finished with four turnovers in 12 minutes against just two assists and took some ill-advised shots. Moreover, the Raptors’ ability to collapse off of him into the paint congested the driving lanes for RJ and Julius. Payton also really struggled to stick with Kyle Lowry and VanVleet through screens. It’s a tough situation for him, and this author really thinks he would benefit from playing with more floor-spacers in a “just attack” role. But, Thibs does seem to have learned from the recent trend, and this was the second game where he closed the game with Rose. In fact, he closed the second quarter with both Rose and Quickley, which was a departure from his normal habit of bringing Payton back to close the half. Part of this could be improved conditioning from Rose, but in any case, I believe he will be the point guard Thibs decides to go to for heavy/important minutes in the playoffs.
That’s all I got. The Knicks made it NINE. IN. A. ROW against a long-time divisional foe that has always had their number. “New York, we here.” Yes we are, Julius. Yes we are.
