KNICKS WILT AS RAPS ROAR AHEAD
TORONTO A PERFECT 8- 0 AGAINST ATLANTIC DIVISION FOES
One of the most onesided quarters in franchise history propelled the Raptors to a laughably easy 116101 win over the woeful New York Knicks in a rare Sunday matinee at the Air Canada Centre.
The Raptors opened the third quarter on a 23-2 run against a Knicks team missing star big man Kristaps Porzingis.
Most of the other Knicks declined to show up either, embarrassing themselves by offering no resistance and showing no ability to put the ball in the hole.
Only a late flurry got the Knicks to eight points — tying the record for the fewest an opponent has ever scored in the third against Toronto. The Raptors outscored the Knicks 42- 28 in the second, then 27- 8 in the third, stretching their lead to as many as 38 points.
It left Dwane Casey marvelling at his offensive machine, one that has sat in the top two in efficiency for nearly the entire season.
“We’ve got an attacker in Kyle Lowry who can also shoot the three, and that’s not even including when we get Patrick ( Patterson, who missed another game due to injury) out there and ( Jared Sullinger) when he comes in at the four,” Casey said.
“We’ve got a dynamic centre in the low post that can score ( and work the) offensive boards. A willing passer with Lucas ( Nogueira). We’ve got some good pieces that fit. They know where each other are, the continuity from over the years, the playing with each other, knowing each other, all that stuff adds together. And they’re playing with a tremendous amount of confidence at the offensive end.”
The Knicks had no answers for Toronto on Sunday. New York has r un through 10 head coaches ( including ex- Raptor Herb Williams twice) since Jeff Van Gundy l eft in 2001. It looked for much of this dog’s breakfast t hat t he team was trying to usher out current bench boss Jeff Hornacek.
T he Knicks c o ul dn’ t blame the early start, because it was a close game until midway through the second quarter.
From there, Hornacek tried everything to right the sinking ship, from quick timeouts to going deep into his bench. Nothing worked against a Raptors squad that continues to dominate Eastern Conference opponents. The Raptors improved to 16- 5 against the East — including 8- 0 within the Atlantic Division.
DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points, Lowry added 16 and nine assists in just 28 minutes, Norm Powell added 21 points in 23 strong minutes, while Terrence Ross chipped in 12.
The game tipped off at 3 p. m. because the Knicks play a Monday matinee on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but Casey was glad his team didn’t use it as an excuse.
DeRozan started with five straight misses, but was otherwise fine. Lowry and Ross ( breaking out of a 5- for- 29 outside shooting slump with four triples) j oined him, while Jonas Valanciunas dominated on the boards from the outset. Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose started strongly for the Knicks, but faded as the dreadful visitors lost for the 10th time in the past 12 games.
Valanciunas had 16 rebounds and the Raptors outscored the Knicks 66- 30 in the paint.
That young, final group of Knicks Hornacek referred to — noticeably missing the veteran big names — began the fourth on a big run to slash the nearly 40- point deficit and make the final score appear a lot closer than this one actually was.
Still, the chasm was way too large to span and the Raptors didn’t need to bother reinserting most of their starters, concluding this fourgame homestand with three victories following last Sunday’s loss against Houston.
“It ’s definitely great,” DeRozan said of being able to get some rest. “I think it’s beneficial for guys to get rest and (others to get) reps. The younger guys are gonna play a little bit, so it’s definitely good.
“We’re not putting ours el ves in predicaments where we’ve got to fight extremely hard just to get back in the game, with a run late like we did last year. We’re taking advantage of the third and fourth quarters to come out even more aggressive and it’s paying off.”
The team now heads to the road for a Brooklyn-Philadelphia back- to- back starting on Tuesday night, followed by a game Friday in always tough Charlotte.