Knicks 121, Raptors 115: “Jalen dawgs us to a second straight win.”

The Raptors fight back from 23 points down to make it a game down the stretch.

After clawing their way back to defeat the Houston Rockets last night in NYC, the New York Knicks (34-17) hopped on a plane and arrived in Toronto at 2 a.m. to face the Raptors (16-34) tonight at Scotiabank Arena. Our heroes had defeated the Raptors three times this season, but after a dreadful losing streak, Toronto had won eight of their last 10. Playing without OG Anunoby, could the Knicks overcome fatigue and an improved Raptors club?

They did . . . but they needed a 27-20 double-double from Karl-Anthony Towns, a season-high 17 points from Precious Achiuwa, 19 tough minutes from Ariel Hukporti, and the usual Jalen Brunson antics to reach the finish line ahead, 121-115.

First Half

Toronto played with discipline from the jump. They applied full-court pressure, double-teamed Jalen Brunson, and swished six of their first seven shots. The Knicks would have been farther ahead than a 15-15 tie at the six-minute mark if they had not missed seven shots. As the frame continued, the Canucks continued to outshoot the Americans, and their lead touched six before the Knicks cut it to 34-30 at the buzzer.

Karl-Anthony Towns had a quiet night yesterday. Tonight, he had no trouble pushing Jakob Poeltl around, like so:

Knicks’ rookie Ariel Hukporti checked in at the six-minute mark. Huk’s length and athleticism make him a promising player. Even James Dolan is a fan! For a short while, Knicks’ coach Tom Thibodeau played him alongside Towns. Here the good German goes boom!

With a 19-8 start in the second quarter, New York jumped into the lead. With Towns securing a 20-15 double-double, Mikal Bridges displaying offensive elegance, and Hukporti defending and dunking, the visitors pushed ahead by 10. Josh Hart couldn’t buy a bucket, but let’s not be greedy. New York won the quarter 38-17 and entered intermission ahead, 68-51.

Hukporti’s defense was sterling, managing not to commit a foul while hounding Barnes on multiple trips. He rode Scottie to the rim to prevent a layup on one possession and then forced him into this brick. In year one, he’s already displaying what we expect to see from Jericho Sims.

Second Half

In a blink, New York was ahead by 21. KAT continued to scarf up rebounds, Hart finally got on the scoresheet, and Precious Achiuwa eclipsed his season-high for points. Feasting against his former team, Precious finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, three steals, and two blocks in his 36 minutes.

After that high, the Raptors began to methodically chip away at their obstacle, with Barnes, Kelly Olynyk, Bruce Brown, and Ochai Agbaji putting in good work to cut the score to 98-86 heading into the final frame.

New York would beat the Raptors 24-5 for second-chance points tonight, and to lose would be a disheartening collapse. But the game got a tad worrisome in the fourth. Toronto continued to outscore New York, going on a 21-12 run to slice their deficit to three with just over four minutes remaining. All five Knicks starters had returned to the fray, but they missed seven straight field goal attempts. Near the two-minute mark, the Dinos were down by one. Jalen Brunson, so heroic last night, looked tired but rose up to play the savior role again, scoring five points in the final minute to beat back the Raps.

Quoth Allzingers: “Jalen dawgs us to a second straight win.” Yessir. This was the captain’s capper:

Up Next

This one’s been circled on the calendar for a while: on Saturday, the Knicks host the Boston Celtics. Rest up, Knickerbockers.

Box Score