The Raptors will look to continue on their roll and avoid being swept in their season series with the New York Knicks on Tuesday night in Toronto.
The Knicks have won the first three contests of the four games between the teams this season and have defeated the Raptors in seven straight meetings overall. Toronto’s last win against New York was on Jan. 22, 2023.
After enduring a 1-16 stretch, the Raptors have won eight of their last 10 games after defeating the visiting Los Angeles Clippers 115-108 on Sunday afternoon.
Coach Darko Rajakovic agreed it was probably one of their better games this season.
“Yeah, to be honest with you,” he said. “Every player that stepped on the floor contributed.”
The Knicks could be vulnerable after winning a physical home game against the Houston Rockets, 124-118 on Monday. They were trailing by 11 points after three quarters when Jalen Brunson took over, scoring 17 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter.
“We know what we’re capable of,” Brunson said. “We put ourselves in those positions. We knew that we were at fault and obviously we knew they were not going to quit, so we had to step it up. Just having the confidence in each other knowing, knowing we’re not going to quit.”
The Knicks were without former Raptor OG Anunoby (right foot) on Monday. He was involved in the trade last season that netted Toronto RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.
Anunoby had not missed a game until Monday. He was injured in the loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday with what Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau described as a mild sprain.
The coach did not know if Anunoby could play on Tuesday.
“We’ll see how he responds to the treatment,” Thibodeau said. “It would be premature to say.
“You deal with the reality of it. It’s good that it’s a mild sprain. Just work your way through the treatment and get ready to go. … Next guy get in there and get the job done.”
Precious Achiuwa, who also came to the Knicks in the trade with the Raptors last season, started in Anunoby’s place on Monday. He had seven points, nine rebounds and two steals.
The Raptors are a different team than the one that lost 112-98 at New York on Jan. 8 in the middle of a five-game losing streak. The return of injured players has made a difference and they have been able to close out games more effectively.
“There’s so much change with our roster in the past couple weeks, with guys coming back,” said Gradey Dick, who scored 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting on Sunday.
“I think it’s just knowing in our heads we don’t need to change really anything. We just need to go out there and play hard.”
It also helped on Sunday that the Raptors shot 51.8 percent (44-for-85) from the field. They were even more accurate from 3-point range — 52.0 percent (13-for-25).
The Raptors are creeping up in the standings, entering Monday 4 1/2 games out of the last play-in spot. Rajakovic said that will not alter his approach.
“You’re going to think I’m crazy, but I do not look into the standings at all, I really don’t,” Rajakovic said at practice on Monday. “That’s not going to change anything on how we go about the business. That’s not going to change our preparation. That’s not going to change our motivation.”
–Field Level Media
