CAN’T BEAT THE RAP
Knicks are unable to hang with red-hot Toronto:
Two losses, one day.
While the Knicks doubled-down earlier in the season that a trade for Jimmy Butler wasn't in their sights, seeing the disgruntled shooting guard reportedly get dealt on Saturday to Philly — where he'll likely sign a max extension with the 76ers, pending ap- proval from the NBA — must have stung.
It's no secret the Knicks are planning to be big players next summer, though now it seems they'll have to cross Butler of their list, which likely already includes Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving among others.
Later in the night, the Knicks picked up their second defeat, this time to another division foe.
Pascal Siakam scored a career-high 23 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Raptors took down the Knicks 128-112 in Toronto, improving their leagueleading record to 12-1.
The Knicks kept the Raptors' stars in check as Kawhi Leonard scored a season-low 12 points, failing to reach 20 for the second time in nine games, while Kyle Lowry scored 10 points, one better than his season worst.
“That was our focus, to really do a job on those two,” Knicks coach David Fizdale said. “You've got to pick a poison and their role players really stepped up and made shots.”
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 27 points and Enes Kanter had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost 16 of their past 19 against the Raptors.
"That's why they're so good," Hardaway said of Toronto. "They have that supporting cast that comes in and they take care of business. It's as simple as that."
Siakam shot 6 for 7, including a career-best three 3-pointers, and went 8 for 9 at the free-throw line.
Siakam's outburst made up for a quiet night from Leonard, who didn't make his first basket until a layup with 45 seconds to go in the first half. The two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year shot 2 for 7, missing both of his 3-point attempts, and failed to scored 20 or more points for the second time in nine games with Toronto. Leonard had 19 points in a Nov. 2 win at Phoenix.
After missing all six of his field-goal attempts in Wednesday's win at Atlanta, Knicks rookie Kevin Knox shot 4 for 11 and finished with 12 points.
Toronto led 64-53 at halftime, but New York shaved the gap to three points with a 12-4 run to start the second half. The Knicks closed to within one before the Raptors recovered, outscoring the visitors 3013 over the final 8:51 of the third to take a 100-82 lead en route to the win.
With the effort, the Raptors' Nick Nurse became the first coach to win 12 of his first 13 games since Lawrence Frank started 13-0 with the New Jersey Nets in 2004.