 | Toronto | 92 | Final Box Score | 91 | New York |  |
 A+ | D. Carroll30 MIN, 9 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 3-8 FG, 1-4 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 10 +/- Carroll’s statlines are rarely impressive but he’s found his groove on the defensive end recently, making huge contributions in each of the last 4 wins. With Tucker freeing him up from being the lock down, on-ball defender he’s been freed up to make off-ball reads and he made a lot of great ones tonight. | |
 A | S. Ibaka36 MIN, 15 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 5-14 FG, 2-6 3FG, 3-4 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -2 +/- He wasn’t as efficient as he was in past performances but when nothing was falling from outside he was the one who broke the ice and he was a steadying influence on both ends. | |
 B | J. Valanciunas19 MIN, 10 PTS, 5 REB, 0 AST, 2 STL, 4-4 FG, 0-0 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, -7 +/- He struggled on the defensive end but dominated on the offensive end. He probably could have gotten some more play in crunch time, when the Raptors couldn’t grab a rebound and the Knicks were running Carmelo Anthony isolations that Valanciunas wouldn’t have to defend anyway. It’s hard to be too critical of strategy during a win, though. | |
 B | C. Joseph34 MIN, 6 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL, 3-7 FG, 0-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -2 +/- After a pair of solid performances we got a very mixed bag from Joseph tonight. He struggled to contain Derrick Rose and didn’t make much of a contribution on offense but he also didn’t make many mistakes. | |
 A+ | D. DeRozan37 MIN, 37 PTS, 8 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 13-25 FG, 1-3 3FG, 10-13 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -1 +/- He channeled his inner Kyle Lowry with a deep pull up three in crunch time and nailed the game winner over one of the least likable players in the game. I’m critical of him but he gets all of my respect for stepping up in the last few games when the team has needed him most. I wish I could give him a better grade. | |
 A | P. Tucker26 MIN, 2 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 1-4 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/- You look at his stat line and it can be easy to say he didn’t contribute much but he didn’t make many bad plays and his good plays seemed to come when the Raptors needed them most. He just has a knack for coming up with the plays a team needs to pull out a win: his defense on Carmelo Anthony down the stretch was key and if he doesn’t grab two offensive rebounds in the last 5 minutes this is probably a Raptors loss. | |
 A | P. Patterson18 MIN, 3 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1-6 FG, 1-6 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 7 +/- If he could have made his shot this would be an A+ performance. As usual Patterson was everywhere the Raptors needed him to be and they completely shut the Knicks down when he was on the floor. | |
 B+ | N. Powell18 MIN, 3 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1-6 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, -3 +/- For the most part he was fairly disappointing, unable to find any rhythm on offense and being something of a non-factor on defense but when the team desperately needed plays at the start of the fourth he made a huge three and assisted on another to help key their run. A game this close and this ugly can swing dramatically on a few plays and Norm has had in two of the biggest ones for the Raptors. | |
 B+ | D. Wright15 MIN, 5 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 1-2 FG, 1-2 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 3 +/- Delon continues to use his length and positioning very effectively on defense, using them to contain quicker guards. He struggled to generate any offense in the halfcourt with the Knicks packing the paint but he made good decisions and pushed the tempo as often as he could. | |
 A | F. VanVleet8 MIN, 2 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1-2 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 6 +/- If the Raptors are going to succeed with Kyle Lowry out they’re going to need contributions from unlikely sources and tonight Fred Van Vleet is that unlikely source. He took advantage of the minutes he was given by driving to the rim aggressively and hustling for loose balls, continuing to embody the “next man up” philosophy of the Raptors by waiting his turn and taking advantage when it comes. | |
 B+ | J. Poeltl1 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -5 +/- He didn’t get a chance to do much but I’m glad Casey that he’s moved up in the rotation so he gets a good grade. | |
 Inc | L. Nogueira1 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 0 +/- He looked tall on that defensive possession. | |
 A | Dwane Casey This is one of those games where it’s tough to grade him because there are good reasons for and against some of the decisions he made, but the minutes he gave Van Vleet played a huge role in turning the game in the Raptors favour and keeping the struggling Bebe Nogueira glued to the bench was probably the right decision. Hard to be critical of the coach when the team wins without their MVP. | |
Things We Saw
- Defenses are going to go under every screen and pack the paint every night so long as Lowry is out. Valanciunas re-screening and Ibaka’s pick and pop game will help free up precious space inside but the coaching staff is going to have get really inventive if they want a consistent offense out of this bunch.
- After some bad times where the Raptors effort was justifiably questioned by many fans it’s nice to see the return of the resilient never-say-die squad from the beginning of the season. Whether it’s the new blood or the time off or a combination of the two it’s great to see the fight in them.
- Shout out to DeMar DeRozan. Because I’m so critical of him I have to make sure that he gets his due when he earns it and he’s been great since the all-star break. He put the team on his back and matched the offensive output of the entire Knicks team in the 4th quarter. They needed a win and he got them one, nothing but respect for the man for that.
