Knicks erase 12-point deficit before falling to Raptors
Kevin Knox II of the Knicks tries to get to the hoop during the first half against Rondae Hollis-Jefferson of the Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden on Friday, Jan. 24, 2020. Credit: Jim McIsaac
It was one thing when Madison Square Garden was crowded with fans of the Lakers and LeBron James earlier this week. But while the Garden was filled again Friday night, it was chants of “Let’s go Raptors!” that resonated the loudest.
Actually, the Star Wars characters roaming the arena also got bigger cheers than the Knicks for much of the night.
But the Knicks turned some of those sounds around. They trailed by as many as 12 in the fourth quarter, but a pair of free throws by Marcus Morris tied the score with 4:03 left. The cheers for a good effort were all the Knicks would get on this night, though, as they fell to Toronto, 118-112.
“It’s tougher that we’re right there and we’re losing,” Morris said, thinking back to close losses to the Lakers and 76ers in the last few games. “If we were just not even competing and getting our [butt] kicked, that would be like, ‘All right, well, we’re not doing nothing.’ But being that we’re right there in the games, tie game with two minutes to go, and it was like that down the stretch, that’s the toughest part, losing those close games like that.”
Toronto’s OG Anunoby sank a tiebreaking three-pointer out of a timeout and the Knicks committed a shot clock violation. The Knicks got back to within 108-107, but Pascal Siakam split the defense on a pick-and-roll for a dunk with 1:09 left and Anunoby swiped Elfrid Payton’s pass, leading to a pair of free throws by Kyle Lowry.
The Raptors put the ball in Siakam’s hands one more time, and he went around a pick and sank a three-pointer with 21.4 seconds to play.
“It wasn’t miscommunication,” Morris said of the pick-and-roll defense against Siakam. “They just had really good screens on me. I tried to go under. We’re supposed to pull over from the weak side. We ended up hugging a little bit. They made the plays. He’s a good player.”
Lowry scored 26 points and Siakam added 23 for Toronto.
Morris had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Damyean Dotson scored 21 points off the bench and Julius Randle added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks. Payton had 13 points and 11 assists.
When the Knicks faced the Raptors in Toronto earlier this season, they built an early double-digit lead, saw it disappear in an avalanche and trailed by as many as 34 points in an eventual 28-point loss. Though this was a better show, in the end, the result was the same. Just another loss, the 10th in the last 12 games for the Knicks (12-34).
The problem for the Knicks is that it was another night in which the entire starting lineup consisted of veteran players signed as free agents last summer. With RJ Barrett sidelined with an ankle injury, other than the recent play of Dotson, the Knicks’ player development has been stuck in mud.
The Knicks have seen little signs of growth from Mitchell Robinson other than the athleticism that leads to his continued dunks and blocks. Kevin Knox has endured a lost season and Frank Ntilikina is mired in a miserable shooting slump since returning from a groin strain.
Referring to his own young players, including three main cogs who spent time in the G League, Raptors coach Nick Nurse said, “I’m a firm believer that they need to be playing. They’ve got to play. How do you get any better if you’re not playing?
“I’m a big, big believer that if they’re not getting minutes with the big club that they’ve got to go down and play as many minutes as they can down there.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
