Knicks give Toronto another loss, putting Raptors’ senses of urgency in doubt

Toronto saw a better Toronto Friday night at the New York Knicks. The Raptors suffered a 112-108 defeat as the team continues to slip.

Apart from being outplayed in the point guard and power forward duo Jalen Brunson & Julius Randle, it was an effort by the Knicks throughout that was able weather runs from the Raptors as they tried to dig their way out of holes after holes.

“We’re not competing well enough, not long enough in stretches to win in this league … It’s hard to keep having to make those pushes,” said the Raptors’ Fred VanVleet post game, who finished with a team-high 28 points.

“They outplayed us, they deserved to win.”

The Raptors made a comeback late in the game, cutting a 16-point gap with just over three quarters to play. With 42 seconds to go in regulation, it was down to just two points. The Raptors were able to make a comeback against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. the Raptors couldn’t pull off another miracle.

It marks the eleventh loss for the Raptors in their last 15 games, as they fall to a 16-23 record — their worst through 39 games since the 2012-13 season, more than a decade ago. It’s also the second straight loss as part of a six-game home stand for the Raptors, as the Knicks broke their 11-game losing streak in Scotiabank Arena.

Friday night’s matchup particularly got away from the Raptors in the beginning of the second and fourth quarters. VanVleet was blunt when asked if Raptors played with enough urgency for too long periods.

The Knicks began the second frame on an 11-2 run, which gave them a 13-point lead. They opened the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run that gave them an 11 point lead. These were crushing blows given that the Raptors had been in contention for the first quarter thanks to Randle’s red-hot start. The Raptors then chipped back in the third quarter and came in just short of the final frame at 81-78.

“Those parts of the game weren’t good,” said Raptors head coach Nick Nurse post-game.

Coming into Friday’s matchup, Randle had missed his last three games, but he wasted no time finding his rhythm. After Randle’s offensive rebound in the first quarter, Randle was left open to hitting a three-ball by the Raptors, which seemed to help him find his groove.

It would be one of five three-point bombs in the opening frame for Randle — the others heavily contested, but it didn’t matter.

“It was just about being aggressive, open and letting the game come to me,” said Randle post game, as he continues to have arguably the best season of his career, with the Knicks holding the sixth seed in the East after their fourth straight win.

“I believe it then spilled over into everyone to get the confidence to get this one up and running. It’s big for us.”

Randle finished the first quarter with 19 points, the third most he’s ever scored in a quarter in his nine-year career. Eventually, he’d finish with a game-high 32, to go along with 11 rebounds, marking his 22nd double-double of the season.

He outplayed the Raptors’ Pascal Siakam, who finished with 18 points on 4-14 shooting the field, to go along with 13 rebounds and five assists. It’s quite the contrast compared to the Raptors’ last matchup against the Knicks in December, where Siakam scored a career-high 52 points in Madison Square Garden.

Friday’s statline comes after an 11-point performance for the Raptors’ star player against the Bucks on Wednesday. Siakam’s 29 points in two games is the lowest total score for this season.

To go along with Randle’s edge, the second part of the Knicks’ one-two punch in Brunson sealed the deal for the Knicks. To stop the Raptors from winning, the point guard scored 10 of his 26 points to help him win. He also had eight assists to help him get to the finish line.

Both teams saw little contribution from their benches, with 15 points each, which continues to be a problem for the Raptors.

However, the Knicks were helped with timely shots from Quentin Grimes (4-10 from three), and sixth-man Miles McBride, who hit two timely threes in the fourth quarter to grow the Knicks’ double-digit lead.

The Raptors again couldn’t contend with a blistering three-point performance from the opposing team, shooting 34.5 percent from distance, compared to the Knicks’ 43.2 percent. Toronto holds the third-worst three-point percentage in all of the NBA (33.2%) following the matchup.

Another consistent trend was the Raptors’ inability to contain a true big man, allowing the Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson to secure 18 rebounds, with eight of those coming on the offensive glass, to go along with 10 points.

Mixed in all these advantages for the Knicks, the Raptors’ inconsistent effort proved to be the dagger, resulting in a loss that keeps them in the 12th seed in the Eastern Conference — not even good enough for a play-in spot for a franchise three years removed from an NBA title.

These late-game surges may provide hope, but they’re also the result of the Raptors’ starters playing brutal minutes, with VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr. (who finished with his sixth straight 20-point game), Siakam and O.G. Anunoby, Siakam and Gary Trent Jr. played at least 39 minutes each against the Knicks.

VanVleet Siakam and Anunoby were all in the top four NBA players in minutes per match for the season. The Raptors’ point guard says he and Nurse have “fought” this season about his minutes, with the one-time All-Star still battling contact injuries from last season.

Despite that, VanVleet notes that all they may need is a “little spark” to help turn their season around, comments that come with the NBA’s Feb. 9 deadline approaching, and the future of this Raptors core continuing to be in question.

“I promise I’ll take all the criticism and questions and concerns at the end of the season, but we got a long way to go,” said VanVleet. “I’m not giving up … As long as we got this group together, we got to go out there and fight and give it our all every night.”

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