Raptors cool off Knicks with a 96-79 win
Posted March 23, 2012 9:53 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
DeMar DeRozan poured in a season-high 30 points and the Toronto Raptors cooled off the red-hot New York Knicks with a 96-79 victory on Friday night.
Andrea Bargnani added 21 points and seven rebounds for the Raptors (16-32), who handed the Knicks their first loss under interim coach Mike Woodson.
Amar’e Stoudemire led the Knicks (23-25) with 17 points and six rebounds. New York came into the game on a five-game win streak that started with the resignation of former coach Mike D’Antoni on March 14.
Minutes after putting down an alley-oop dunk in the fourth, DeRozan fell awkwardly on Jose Calderon while battling for a rebound. He got up gingerly, ran off the floor and into the tunnel. He did not return and there was no report on his condition.
It was a miserable night for the Knicks’ emerging star Jeremy Lin. The point guard went 3 for 9 and finished the night with six points.
The Raptors, who crumbled late in the game against Chicago on Wednesday, looked shaky early in the fourth as New York pulled to within 70-60 on four points from J.R. Smith and a three-pointer by Steve Novak.
But Toronto held firm thanks to a Gary Forbes jumper and two straight dunks by Bargnani and DeRozan to keep it 82-65 with six minutes to go.
DeRozan wasn’t done yet. Calderon set him up for another emphatic alley-oop dunk a minute later and the Air Canada Centre crowd roared as Toronto pulled into a comfortable 21-point lead.
The Knicks came out aggressive in the third as Lin hit a jumper from the corner and a Stoudamire dunk made it 41-40 just two minutes into the second half.
But DeRozan stopped the Knicks’ momentum when James Johnson set him up for a big alley-oop to cap an eight-point run for Toronto and a 51-42 lead at 7:06. He drained two fadeaway jumpers and Raptors had their biggest lead of the game, 60-44 with three minutes left in the third. DeRozan had 14 points in the quarter.
Toronto started the second quarter with a nine-point lead, then stretched that to 31-19 when Linas Kleiza made good on a driving layup. Shumpert had four straight points to key a Knicks run, with Baron Davis stealing the ball from Calderon to make it 31-25 and Stoudamire’s put back to pull within four at 6:25.
Lin heard plenty of boos as he clanked two three-point attempts in the second quarter. It was a reverse of Lin’s last visit to Toronto at the peak of Linsanity, when he nailed a buzzer-beating three to lift the Knicks over the Raptors on Valentine’s Day to thunderous applause.
On a Lin turnover, Johnson drove to the net for a Toronto layup and a 37-31 lead with just over two minutes left in the half. DeRozan closed out the half with a game-high 12 points to send Toronto into the locker-room with a 39-36 lead.
Toronto opened the game with a 11-4 lead behind Bargnani’s five points on a three-pointer and a pair of free throws, forcing New York to call a timeout three minutes into the game.
Notes: Stoudemire wore a hoodie during warmups in support of slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. … Friday’s game was televised in the three languages, including Mandarin for the first time in team history. … The Knicks and Raptors have met four times this season. … Toronto departs for Chicago immediately after Friday’s game and returns Monday for a five-game homestand. … The Knicks were without forward Jared Jeffries (sore right knee) and guard Bill Walker (sore left elbow). … Bargnani came into the game averaging just 12.5 per game on 33.7 per cent shooting over an eight-game stretch since returning from a calf injury. … Toronto guard Jerryd Bayless (left hip pointer) was a game-time decision, but did not play. He’s unlikely for Saturday’s game against Chicago, said coach Dwane Casey.
