Knicks Rip Raptors For 2nd Straight W

By | 2016-10-28T17:57:45-08:00 March 2nd, 2015|News|Comments Off on Knicks Rip Raptors For 2nd Straight W

Just 24 hours after a gutsy double overtime win on the road over the Detroit Pistons, Derek Fisher’s New York Knicks returned home to host one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams: the Toronto Raptors.

It was an unenviable position, playing the No. 2 team in the East one night after playing 58 minutes of basketball. But over the course of a trying season, D-Fish’s crew has become accustomed to tough situations—and the character the Knicks have built in recent months showed in a hard-fought 103-98 victory over Toronto at Madison Square Garden.

“Under the circumstances, it’s impressive that a group of guys still decided that tonight was very important to them as a team—that they were going to play with some pride, protect home court and reward our fans that are still coming to support us,” Derek said of his team’s victory. “They put out an honest effort, and that’s great to see. The whole team—all 10 guys who played, the guys who didn’t play—really just believe in one another and play like a team.”

Toronto Raptors v New York Knicks

Only three Knicks finished in double figures, but four other players tallied eight or nine points, and all 10 of Fish’s guys made the scoring column and dished out at least one assist.

Since Carmelo Anthony was lost for the season to injury, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Andrea Bargnani have begun to show that they can step up and carry the scoring load for the New York club. Hardaway tallied a team-high 22 points with seven rebounds, and Bargnani went for 19. However, the most pleasant surprise was the third player in double figures: New York’s newest addition, Alexey Shved.

The 6’6” point guard joined the Knicks from the Houston Rockets at the trade deadline, and his 15-point, five-assist output marked his third consecutive double-digit effort, leaving Fish and Co. encouraged about what he can do in blue and orange going forward.

“Alexey showed some of the things that we mentioned that we though he might have, in terms of the potential to handle the ball, to make plays, to make shots,” Derek said. “I think his size and his feel for the game are things that are a good combination to have in this offense. He’s picked it up well and he’s playing with a lot of confidence out there.”

Toronto Raptors v New York Knicks

In the first frame Saturday night, Hardaway was the spark plug. The Michigan product went 4-of-6 from the field, hit twice from beyond the arc and tallied 10 points, pushing the Knicks out to a 22-15 lead.

Defense was big for the Knicks in that first frame, where they held the high-flying Raptors to 31.6 percent shooting. New York kept the Toronto sharpshooters relatively quiet: the visitors shot just 27.6 percent from deep. Afterward, Fish talked about the defensive effort of his team and how that started from some success on the offensive end.

“Guys are just more determined to do the right things on the defensive end,” Fish explained. “I think that having Andrea back out on the floor and Alexey playing well, and guys doing the right things on the offensive end, it’s building an energy where guys are willing to protect each other even more on the defensive end.”

Toronto Raptors v New York Knicks

Toronto did its most offensive damage in the second, where Greivis Vasquez and Lou Williams combined to hit four three-pointers and score 20 points. However, Hardaway and Shved were there to provide a potent presence of their own, combining for 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Behind that duo, the Knicks weathered the storm in the second and took a 50-47 lead into the locker room.

Toronto Raptors v New York Knicks

After the break, Bargnani and Lance Thomas carried the load, going 5-of-7 from the floor for 13 points. The Knicks shot just 36.8 percent in the third, but they did their job at the line going 10-of-10. That deft shooting from the charity stripe made it 75-71, New York, going into the fourth.

In the final frame, the Raptors looked inside to Jonas Valanciunas, who had six points in the first two minutes of the fourth to cut the Knicks lead to just one, before Shved responded with a much-needed trifecta, giving Fish’s group some breathing room.

From there, the Knicks looked to an unsung hero of their own down low. Going into the fourth, Lou Amundson had just one point, but he reeled off eight in the fourth quarter, helping the Knicks build their lead back to 13.

When asked about Lou’s contributions late, Derek had plenty to say about the big man, who is on his 10th team in nine seasons in the NBA.

“There’s a level of humility and integrity that makes everybody want to pull for Lou,” Coach Fish said. “To be on as many teams as he has been on and to not accept ‘no’ for an answer, and every time he gets a chance to put on a jersey, he just goes all in. He’s willing to go through a brick wall for himself and for his team. Things have changed a lot since he’s been here, and it’s great to have guys like that.”

Toronto Raptors v New York Knicks

Despite the big fourth from Amundson, the Raps fought right back, behind a pair of threes from Vasquez, and eventually, a Patrick Patterson bucket made it just a two-point game, 100-98, with 33 seconds to go.

Then came yet another enormous contribution from a player who had been quiet all night. On the most crucial possession of the game, Fish called for the ball to go to two of his hottest players out of a timeout: Shved and Bargnani, but in the process, Shved found the impossibly clutch rookie Langston Galloway, who was just 1-of-4 with three points before this possession.

One night prior, Galloway came through with a clutch three to force overtime against the Pistons—and he did it again, this time hitting from the right wing to seal the deal against the Raptors.

“It was designed for Alexey and Andrea to kind of play a two-man game and see what comes out of that. We put trust in both of those guys that they would make the plays that are there,” Derek said of that final play. “A lot of guys aren’t built to be 1-for-4 from the field the whole game prior to that and step up and shoot the ball with the confidence Langston Galloway shot that ball with. Having that in his DNA, that’s why we were attracted to him and why we wanted him to be a part of our group.”

Galloway, who was in the Development League earlier this season, has been a vital part of the Knicks system since being called up in January, knocking down countless clutch buckets late in games.

While New York is out of the fight for a playoff berth, Fish is proud of the way his team has played with pride and determination—and the way they’ve bought in to the idea of rebuilding the Knicks franchise.

“I think this group is embracing the opportunity to build some connection and cohesion as a group despite the win-loss record, that this really does mean something, that this is the underground process of building up to what we want to become.”

NEXT UP

The Knicks (12-46) will look to make it three straight Tuesday night when the host the Sacramento Kings (20-37).

This contest was originally scheduled for Jan. 26 but was postponed due to weather. The Knicks won the first meeting between the two squads this season: a 135-129 overtime triumph.

Like New York, Sacramento is in season of transition, recently having hired a new head coach, George Karl. The Kings will ride a two-game losing streak into Madison Square Garden, falling to the San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers.

The contest will be the start of an eight-game road trip for the Kings, and it’ll be the first of a back-to-back for the Knicks, who will turn around and travel to take on the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.

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