Holly MacKenzie – Raptors.com
The Raptors outscored the Knicks 27-8 in the third quarter to take a 96-62 lead into the fourth quarter. Lucas Nogueira was the only starter to log time in the final quarter as Toronto rolled to a 116-101 victory against New York to move to 27-13 on the season.
The Raptors got off to a slow start in their first afternoon game at the Air Canada Centre this season. Despite being ahead by one after the opening quarter, the Raptors shot just 38 percent over the first 12 minutes. Both teams started to wake up in the second, with the Knicks shooting 50 percent from the floor and the Raptors connecting on 60 percent of their field goals. Derrick Rose scored 12 points for the Knicks, while Terrence Ross came off the bench to score 12 points in nine minutes for the Raptors. Ross shot 4-for-5 from beyond the arc in the quarter as Toronto held a 69-54 advantage at the break.
The Raptors wasted little time taking control in the third. Toronto ripped off a 25-2 run to open the quarter to take a 94-56 advantage, their largest lead of the game, with 2:40 remaining. Toronto outscored the Knicks 27-8 in the quarter, taking a 96-62 lead into the fourth quarter. DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 11 in the third, while DeMarre Carroll added 10 points as the Raptors shot 60 percent (12-for-20) and the Knicks converted just 19 percent of their field goal attempts (4-for-21).
Although the Knicks would cut into the Raptors lead to open the fourth with an all-reserves lineup on the floor for the Raptors, the final quarter was all but a formality. DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, DeMarre Carroll and Jonas Valanciunas all rested for the final 12 minutes as Norman Powell led the team in scoring with 12 pints in the quarter. The Knicks played their reserves for the entire fourth as well.
Kyle Lowry scored 16 points in 28 minutes against the Knicks. He shot 6-for-10 from the floor, 2-for-5 from beyond the arc, and 2-for-3 from the free throw line. Lowry added four rebounds, nine assists, a steal and a blocked shot and the Raptors were a +35 when he was on the floor. DeMar DeRozan scored a team-high 23 points to go with five assists and five rebounds. He shot 8-for-17 from the floor and 7-for-7 from the line in 28 minutes.
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4 points > 3 points. #WeTheNorth
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Jonas Valanciunas had a 12-point, 16-rebound double-double in 28 minutes. DeMarre Carroll had another solid effort, scoring 20 points in 27 minutes on 7-for-13 field goals. Terrence Ross had a fantastic first half when he scored all 12 of his points in the second quarter to help the Raptors build a 15-point halftime lead. Norman Powell finished with a season-high 21 points off the bench.
“We're not putting ourselves in predicaments where we've got to fight extremely hard just to get back in the game, with a run late like we did last year. We're taking advantage of the third and fourth quarters to come out even more aggressive, and it's paying off.”- DeMar DeRozan on how this year's team is better at playing with the lead
66…Points in the paint for Toronto, 30 for New York. 49…Percent shooting for the Raptors, 42 percent for the Knicks. 16…Turnovers by the Knicks leading to 23 points scored by the Raptors. In comparison, Toronto turned the ball over 11 times, leading to 12 points scored by New York. 6…Players in double figures for the Raptors. 38…Toronto's largest lead of the game was 38 points late in the third quarter.
“The starters came out and set the tone. Especially starting the third quarter, that's usually been our Achilles heel, came out and set the tone defensively and built a 30-plus lead. My hat's off to those guys.” – Dwane Casey praising the effort of the starters in building the lead “It's a lot more noticeable. He is out there, he is talking to you, especially in walkthrough and shootaround about the sets and how to guard and just really trying to put his input and his knowledge on the game for the young guys. He's playing really well, knocking down threes, doing the dirty things for us, getting on the floor. That's really big for us. We need guys like that to come in and make an impact with their hustle and the small things.” – Norman Powell on getting to play alongside a healthy DeMarre Carroll “I think we just got more physical. I think we started to get more physical after the first quarter. We just kept going and being more physical. The bigs did a good job of rebounding. We got out and were able to run.” – Kyle Lowry on the third quarter “I feel like we have more chemistry. We are a lot more together. Not that we weren't last year, but I think the guys coming back, knowing our roles more, DC is healthy, so, we have all our starting five back for a long part of the season. I think that's what is helping us. The veteran guys being able to play and play off one another and the second unit is still coming in and producing. It's all the way down the line from DeMar all the way down to Bruno.” – Norman Powell on this year's team at the halfway mark of the season compared to a year ago
Up next: The Raptors kick off a three-game road trip in Brooklyn where they will face the Nets on Tuesday at 7:30 P.M. ET.
