Perhaps a missed out of bounds call would have changed the outcome of this one. Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered. Either way, the Raptors never delivered the necessary knockout punch in this back-and-forth affair that ended in a third straight loss for the hobbled Raptors.
The Raptors got off to yet another poor start in this one, shooting 33 percent and mustering only 17 points in the first quarter, a season low for any Knicks opponent in any quarter this season. The Knicks delievered a balanced attack in which 8 players scored and closed the quarter on a 7-0 run to head into the second up 24-17.
The Raptors opened the second quarter on frenetic a 15-5 run. Unlike the slilted, DeRozan heavy first quarter, the Raptors moved the ball and created turnovers in the second. Led by Lowry (11 points, 3 steals) and Cory Joseph (4 rebounds, 6 assists), the Raptors scored 35 points on 54 percent shooting in the quarter. Unfortunately, they couldn’t stop Melo, who capped a 13-2 run going into the half with a 3, giving him 17 points for the quarter.
Down 60-52 to start the second half, it looked like the Knicks might run away with the game as they extended their lead to 13 to start the quarter. The Raptors responded with a 7-0 run of their own, to keep the game within striking distance. The Raptors used a well-distributed attack that saw 8 different players score to out pace New York 33 to 25 in the quarter. Once again, Lowry was the man scoring 9 points and dishing 4 assists in the quarter. The Raptors shot 50 percent in the quarter, didn’t turn the ball over and held the Knicks to 41 percent shooting. The only downside for the Raps in the quarter was surrendering a bankshot three at the buzzer from Cleanthony Early to tie the game at 85 heading into the fourth.
The fourth quarter was a bit of an ugly, slug-it-out affair. Despite only shooting 33 percent for the quarter, the Raps were in this one until the very end. This game ultimately boiled down to a couple of key posessions. Down one with 22 seconds to play, the Raptors trapped Melo on the sideline, forcing him to step out of bounds. Sadly, the refs missed the call and the possession ended in two Lance Thomas free throws, which put the Knicks up 3 with 17 seconds to play. The Raptors had a chance to tie the game at 108 on a really nice baseline drive from DeMar with 3.7 seconds to play but DeRozan’s reverse layup rimmed out into the hands of Lance Thomas, who converted two free throws to ice the game.
Thoughts:
- The Raptors shot 4-17 from long range. They’re now 12-59 (20.3%) from deep during the losing streak.
- It might not be a coincidence that DeMar’s two best offensive quarters (first (10 points) and fourth (9 points)) were the Raptor’s worst. A guy with such a high usage rate needs to have more than two assists.
- The Raptors need DeMarre in the worst way.
- The bench is so offensively inept you have to wonder how that situation is going to play out as the season wears on.
