Quick Reaction: Raptors 100, Knicks 108

Ibaka had a tough go at it on both ends, especially through the first three quarters. During that span, Ibaka converted none of his field goal attempts and wasn’t able to haul in a single rebound. If not for his strong fourth-quarter effort and rim protection, Ibaka would have finished with a D or D- grade.

Anunoby made the right play offensively almost every time he touched the ball, whether it was finding Jonas Valanciunas inside, making the extra pass to an open man, or taking a shot within the flow of the offence.

With the Knicks in the midst of their ludicrous third-quarter run, Dwane Casey subbed in Norman Powell the rest of the way and kept Anunoby on the bench. It wasn’t his strongest defensive performance, but remember, he’s still a rookie and is bound to have lapses at times.

Valanciunas came out of the gates with great energy, both offensively and defensively. He imposed his will inside and from mid-range early on, but once the third quarter rolled around, he seemed to be forcing things a bit. Valanciunas gave Enes Kanter a hard time defensively, especially in the first half, and did a solid job protecting the rim. Like Anunoby, the big man’s minutes tapered off in the second half.

Lowry really pushed the pace in the first half, which led to easy scoring opportunities for him and his teammates. Aside from creating a few second-chance opportunities by corraling a couple of offensive rebounds, Lowry was also active defensively. He was one of the few bright spots on a very perplexing night of Raptors basketball.

It was a tale of two halves for DeMar DeRozan. He entered halftime with an 18/4/4 line on 7/12 shooting and quite frankly seemed unguardable. (He would have had an A+ grade if we were only evaluating his first half).

The final 24 minutes were a totally different story for DeRozan, though, as he missed the three shots he took and seemed to disappear on the offensive end. Certainly an uncharacteristic second half for the all-star.

Siakam once again sprinted down the floor like his job depended on it. What else would you expect? The man is like the Energizer Bunny out there, getting out in transition and making things happen.

On top of his hustle, Siakam did a great job of making the extra pass to help turn good looks into great ones. He had three assists in his first four minutes of game action.

Powell returned with a bang at Madison Square Garden, lighting it up from three-point range. He knocked down a trio of three-pointers in the first quarter shortly after checking in, which really sparked the Raptors and helped them build an early lead.

Powell receives an A, in part because of how little rust he showed in his return.

Miles once again fulfilled the duties of an offensive sparkplug, utilizing his ever-so-quick release from long range time and time again. Boy, Miles fits well within the Raptors new-look offence.

VanVleet didn’t allow his man much room to operate on the offensive end. He was a member of the Raps lineup that brought the game within reach midway through the fourth quarter and did a great job of getting everyone involved and playing within the offence.

Once again, Poeltl didn’t make typical rookie mistakes. That being said, the Austrian didn’t really stand out the way he normally does. Poeltl has certainly had much better games.

It’s easy to forget that Nogueira played in this game. He didn’t make much of an impact at the Garden.

The Raptors let the floodgates open in the third quarter and really didn’t show much resilience, which forced Casey to yank Valanciunas, Anunoby, and Ibaka early in the half. Kudos to the Raptors bench boss for sticking with a lineup featuring the likes of FVV, Siakam, and Ibaka for much of the fourth quarter. Once again, Casey rolled with an 11-man rotation, which on this night didn’t work out well for his team.