The rain delay on Sunday night in Madison Square Garden – yes, that’s right – would have been much more expensive for the Knicks than the Mets had to deal with earlier in the day.
While the Knicks were flushing an 18-point lead in the second half, the game was delayed by 14 minutes because water fell from the ceiling onto the court.
The Raptors rose rapidly forward after the game resumed, but RJ Barrett’s 3-point lead with 34.3 seconds left and Julius Randle’s late-free throws helped secure a critical 102-96 victory for Tom Thibodeau’s team.
The eighth place finish of the Knicks’ first win in ten games against the Raptors since November 2017, was an important victory for them in the Eastern Conference, and put them down against no. 11 in Toronto increased to six games with 18 left. The top six teams in each conference automatically qualify for the post-season game, and teams seven through ten are subjected to scenarios.
Randle scored a team high of 26 points and Barrett scored 19 for the Knicks (27-27), who have won consecutive games after dropping five of their previous six. They play at home again on Monday against the Lakers, who remain without the injured stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Nerlens Noel contributed nine points, 13 rebounds and four stoppages for the Knicks, while Gary Trent Jr. Scored 23 points and Kyle Lowry 19 for the Raptors (21-33).
The Knicks built up a 68-50 lead early in the third quarter, but the Raptors stormed back with a 37-15 surge to take an 87-83 lead over Rodney Hood’s three-pointer, with seven minutes left. in the fourth.
The Knicks scored the next nine points to regain the lead, including a drive by Barrett and an instant three-pointer by Alec Burks for a 92-87 lead with 3:24 left. Barrett’s right corner 3 in the last minute extended a cushion from one point to four, and after Pascal Siakam called for the score to be tied, Randle sank four straight free throws in the last 10 seconds to secure the victory achieved.
The Raptors were without Fred VanVleet (hip) and OG Anunoby (rest), but they scored 135 points without them – and with Lowry and Siakam also on the sidelines – in Saturday’s win over Cleveland.
‘They have suffered a number of injuries, but it is a deep and talented team. They scored 87 points in the first half of their game [Friday] night, and they put out a number of their players for that particular game. So you have to be ready for them, ‘said Thibodeau. “They can turn you around and they come in the open floor and they are very dangerous.”
The Knicks’ tight defense kept the Raptors in the first half with just 13-for-42 shots (29.3 percent), starting with Bullock’s interception of a Siakam pass on Toronto’s first possession for a breakaway. -dunk. The Knicks clinched 10 of 12 three-point attempts in the first quarter, but Randle’s three-point conversion in the final seconds gave them a 27-16 lead.
Derrick Rose (11 points) was hacked during a three-point attempt and knocked down all three of the dirty shots for a 14-point cushion. Randle, who finished with 18 points at halftime, sank two free throws with 13.4 seconds left while the Knicks carried a 56-42 lead.
Barrett and Reggie Bullock (10 points) paired up early in the third stage of downtown to extend the Knicks’ advantage to 18. Siakim and Trent jointly managed a 14-4 run in Toronto in 14 to reduce the lead to six, 72-66. five minutes left in the term.
The game was delayed 14 minutes from the third quarter by 3:58, with the Knicks leading by 10, due to what the team called “a small drop from the rain” coming from the ceiling. After the delay, the Raptors closed out 78-76 on three points by Trent and Chris Boucher towards the end of the quarter.