Raptors’ shot-making abandons them in loss to Knicks

A ton has been made of the Toronto Raptors’ offence transcending to achieve best-ever numbers early in the season. But over their last three games it’s come plummeting back to earth in a big way.

Having averaged 100 points even over that stretch as Brandon Ingram’s miraculous shot-making has dried up and in the absence of RJ Barrett, Toronto dropped its second straight – after of course winning nine consecutive previously – in a 116-94 wire-to-wire loss to the New Yorks Knicks on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

The Raptors looked like a team that was on the second night of a back to back after going to overtime the night before, minus a couple of strong performances from their youngest players Collin Murray-Boyles and Ja’Kobe Walter. The team’s backcourt was also an exception as Immanuel Quickley had team highs with 19 points and eight assists and Jamal Shead showed his usual verve on drives. Still Walter went 1-of-4 on 3s, Shead went 0-for-3 and Gradey Dick didn’t attempt one.

The Raptors shot 11-for-37 from 3-point range (29.7 percent) and were minus-21 on the glass. Their frontcourt was up against it with Jakob Poeltl sitting due to injury management against Karl-Anthony Townes and Mitchell Robinson.

Walter did a great job sticking to Jalen Brunson and making strong contests on his shots, first forcing a couple misses before swatting a jumper from the short corner. But the Knicks kept draining their shots otherwise. Miles McBride hit four 3s in the first few minutes, adding to what was a 14-of-17 stretch for the wing.

Toronto’s offence stagnated as actions failed to materialize as intended. But Jamison Battle – starting his first game of the season – slipped a screen for a dunk and Shead crossed and flew by McBride for an open layup.

Ingram knifed middle and delivered a layup to Sandro Mamukelashvili. The Knicks didn’t require the same effort to batter the rim, as Townes was unimpeded on multiple possessions. The Raptors’ big bucket-getter did yeoman’s work slithering into the paint and drawing fouls but could have moved the ball along more often like he did for Mamu.

Murray-Boyles gobbled up offensive rebounds between the Raptors missing back-to-back-to-back 3s. On the other end the Knicks kept hitting; this time Jordan Clarkson ripped a couple triples. The Raptors’ all-around lack of energy and the shot-making disparity had them stuck 41-22 after the first.

Shead and Murray-Boyles started to change that with steals, hit-ahead passes and transition slams as the Raptors came to life on the second night of a back-to-back, fresh off an overtime loss to the Charlotte Hornets. Then they got overzealous with the hit-aheads and tossed back-to-back turnovers.

Quickley and Barnes ran split action for the first of three straight Barnes triples from the top of the floor for a personal 9-0 run, forcing a Mike Brown timeout. Then Quickley relocated into a running 3 off yet another Murray-Boyles o-board (he finished with five). Game back on.

Ingram drew a double and found a wide-open Murray-Boyles in the paint. CMB had a whale of a game, looking about as physically imposing as a 20-year-old rookie can. He’s not a just a small boulder the size of large boulder, he’s geodude flexing on opponents. He finished with 11 points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes. Ingram also obviously heard my appeal for more passing, finding Mamu on a roll to the rim moments later. He still had the juice though, driving late clock for a fading turnaround and-1.

Quickley, who often kills his drives too early, had two of his best moments creating for teammates of the season, driving into the lane and lobbing Ochai Agbaji and hitting the paint again before laying down to Barnes for a dunk. Shead was also touching paint with gusto as the Raptors’ guard play exceeded what we saw in recent games. Toronto cut its 19-point first quarter deficit to seven by half.

Quickley canned a deep pull-up trey in transition. He kept gunning, dribbling off a stagger into a tough pull and flying in for a catch-and-shoot in transition. Quickley was 4-of-7 at this point and the Knicks’ lead was down to five, the lowest it had been since the start of the game.

The Raptors proceeded to blow a couple defensive assignments in transition and have the ball slip out of their hands and through their fingers as the Knicks rebuilt their initial lead and more with a 16-1 run.

Murray-Boyles had a tough go where he travelled and then took a defensive foul off the ball for bonus free throws. But he got it right back, first with a nice finish on a transition hit-ahead, then tipping forward a pass from Josh Hart while guarding him on-ball and finishing through a foul on the ensuing runout. Gumption.

Entering the final frame the overarching elements of the game came to a head. The Raptors missed far too many open looks while getting annihilated on the glass (10-0 to start the fourth) making it impossible for them to get back into the game. Mitchell Robinson big-brothered the Raptors’ small-ball frontcourt, finishing with a comical 2-point, 15-rebound stat line. New York’s lead swelled to 20 and benches emptied early. (Raptors 905 standout Chucky Hepburn checked in for the final few minutes to make his NBA debut.)