Bench ineffective in key fourth-quarter stretch as Knicks lose to Raptors

TORONTO — The Knicks had fought back from a 17-point second-quarter deficit to take a three-point lead over the Raptors late in the third quarter Sunday night at Scotiabank Arena.

And then it all fell apart in a matter of minutes in what became a 125-116 loss, leaving the Knicks to wonder how another game got away.

With a fourth straight defeat — bookended by losses to the Raptors in New York and on the road — the Knicks fell to 25-23.

While there are constant cries for more opportunities for the bench players, when Tom Thibodeau put them on the floor Sunday, the collapse came quickly.

“I want to see the film,” Thibodeau said. “I know we fouled, we gave up offensive rebounds and we turned the ball over. That’s usually a recipe to getting beat.”

“Sometimes we start extremely well and sometimes we start slow and then we always fight back and it’s always a close game, always a winnable game,” RJ Barrett said. “I just think in those moments, certain moments, especially like the start of the fourth, we’ve got to do a better job of being ready out of the gate.’’

Minus Immanuel Quickley, who missed a game for the first time this season with a sore left knee, Thibodeau went to his bench to start the fourth quarter, putting Obi Toppin, Deuce McBride, Isaiah Hartenstein and Evan Fournier on the floor with Barrett. The result was a quick collapse, and Thibodeau began sending his starters back onto the floor.

Jalen Brunson was first after a 2-minute, 20-second breather, and then Jericho Sims returned. Julius Randle followed closely behind, but the damage already was done.

With the score tied at 88 after Toppin’s fast-break dunk, the Raptors ran off 11 straight points to begin a 24-8 stretch that gave them a 112-96 lead.

A second-chance three-pointer by Gary Trent Jr. after Juancho Hernangomez chased down his own miss upped the lead to 110-96. After another second-chance basket, this one by Chris Boucher, Thibodeau called timeout again, but with 4:45 left, there was not another comeback in the tank.

“There were stretches where we did good things,” Thibodeau said. “We’re not doing enough good things to win. You have 30 assists, you shoot 49%, we make good percentage from three, we outrebound them by two, but again, they hurt us with the second shot. We always say defend, rebound, low turnovers. Obviously, we didn’t have the low turnovers, and that hurt us.”

The night had started with Barrett getting an ovation during pregame introductions, the public address announcer saying “Out of Mississauga” for his roots in the Toronto suburb. He responded with 30 points, the first time he topped 20 points in five games in his hometown.

Randle had 23 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists and Brunson added 21 points. Toppin (14 points) provided a spark in the first half, shooting 4-for-5 from three-point range.

Fred VanVleet had 28 points and Pascal Siakam and Trent added 24 each for Toronto (21-27).

The Knicks’ defensive starts have been a problem of late, and it was no different Sunday. On Wednesday, the Wizards shot 7-for-9 in building a 17-5 lead, and on Friday, Atlanta began the game by shooting 10-for-12. This time Toronto was 5-for-5 in the opening minutes and piled up a 37-22 lead after one quarter — the fifth straight quarter in which the Knicks had given up at least 33 points.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Mitchell Robinson suffered a fractured right thumb in the opening minutes Wednesday, and the Knicks have been without the anchor to the team’s defense. Quickley’s absence removed another defensive spark plug.

“Mitch is part of it, but Mitch isn’t on the floor a lot,” Thibodeau said. “The other guys got to get the job done. We’ve demonstrated we’re capable of playing great defense.”

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

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.