Blame Canada - Raptors End Another Knicks Winning Streak
RJ Barrett had far more than one-tenth of a second to work with, but more Trent Tucker-style heroics on Martin Luther King Jr. Day weren't in the cards for the New York Knicks.
Barrett's late-game heroics, closing regulation out with an end-to-end slam dunk that forced an extra five minutes, only delayed metropolitan holiday misery: behind 33 points for Fred VanVleet, the Toronto Raptors earned their second victory at Madison Square Garden this season, set to take a 123-121 victory back with them across the northern border.
The Toronto native Barrett did his part for the Knicks, putting in 32 points alongside 26 for Jalen Brunson. Julius Randle's regular antics (his 11th double-double in a row at 21 points and 15 rebounds) came two assists short of a triple-double. The Knicks (25-20) led by as much as 10 in the second half and Toronto didn't take its first lead over the final 24 minutes until the dying stages of regulation.
A strong defensive effort paved the way for Toronto's comeback, one that earned 12 blocks and allowed only 51 points in the second half. VanVleet has had several strong games against the Knicks this year, now averaging 29.7 over three get-togethers this year.
Monday's game carried on the uncanny theme of the Raptors (20-24) ending sizable winning streaks at Madison Square Garden: an eight-game tally, one of the longest streaks in the NBA this season, was previously stopped by Toronto on Dec. 21. New York had won each of its last three and seven of its past eight entering Monday's game (the latter including a 112-108 win in Toronto on Jan. 6).
A failure to close once again came back to bite the Knicks: they led for nearly the entirety of the second half and even appeared to be in good shape when the Raptors clawed away at a nine-point deficit with just over five minutes remaining, tying the score at 104 with VanVleet's triple with 90 seconds left. But a bizarre intentional foul in the final minute, with VanVleet hacking Brunson shortly after a misfired three-pointer from Gary Trent Jr. with just over 18 seconds remaining, produced only one successful free throw from the often-reliable point guard.
Going 4-of-6 from the line over the final 1:17 of regulation came back to haunt the Knicks, who needed Barrett's coast-to-coast dunk to force an extra session. Though the Knicks made things interesting in the fifth, making things come down to the final possession after O.G. Anunoby triples pushed the advantage to six, their dire fate was sealed when Brunson missed a buzzer-beating triple attempt that forced MSG into a dejected exhale.
The Knicks will have an opportunity to split the four-game series against their Atlantic Division rivals over the weekend, as they head to Scotiabank Arena on Sunday evening. In the meantime, another familiar opponent awaits them in their next contest on Wednesday when the Washington Wizards (whom they previously topped on Friday) visit Manhattan (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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