The visiting New York Knicks can advance to the East semifinals of the NBA Cup Tuesday night by maintaining their mastery of the Toronto Raptors.
The Knicks have defeated the Raptors nine consecutive times entering their NBA Cup quarterfinal in Canada. That includes the only meeting between the teams this season, a 116-94 home victory on Nov. 30.
The NBA Cup, however, has been good to the Raptors. They finished first in the East Group A with a 4-0 record to earn home-court advantage. The Knicks were 3-1 to finish first in East Group C.
The teams have been on different trajectories recently. The Knicks have won seven of eight, including Sunday’s 106-100 home win over the Orlando Magic.
Toronto has dropped three straight and five of six with Sunday’s 121-113 loss to the Boston Celtics. The Raptors rallied from a 23-point deficit to lead briefly in the fourth quarter, but they still fell to 1-3 during their five-game homestand.
The Raptors have not defeated the Knicks since Jan. 22, 2023.
Toronto trailed 77-59 at halftime against Boston and were down by 23 in the third quarter before ramping up their intensity level and making a run.
Boston’s 77 points in the first 24 minutes were the most against Toronto in the first half since Dec. 26, 2024, when the Memphis Grizzlies recorded 78.
“They were not the same guys, the energy was different (in the second half),” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “Urgency was different. Couple other guys stepped up over there in the second half and helped us. … I’m demanding more urgency from the whole team, demanding more scrappiness, because when we do that like we did in the second half, we’re a completely different team, and we can compete with any team in this league. We just have to do that over the course of 48 minutes. It cannot be just one half.”
Boston made 20 3-pointers, the most by an opponent against Toronto this season.
Brandon Ingram rebounded from a 7-point outing on Friday to lead the Raptors with 30 points against Boston. Scottie Barnes had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Former Knick Immanuel Quickley scored 11 points after scoring 31 in the loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Friday.
The Raptors have been missing another former Knick in RJ Barrett, who is expected to be out for at least one more week with a sprained right knee.
The Knicks also are dealing with injuries. Karl-Anthony Towns did not play Sunday due to left calf tightness and has been listed as day-to-day. Miles McBride left in the third quarter with an injured left ankle that required a walking boot and a scheduled MRI.
The Knicks had former Raptor OG Anunoby back for a second game after missing nine with a strained hamstring. He produced 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals on Sunday. Anunoby was traded for Barrett and Quickley on Dec. 30, 2023.
“The versatility that OG gives us, it’s unbelievable,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “At his size, he can guard a lot of different people. … Having that size and versatility from OG defensively is huge. He can guard one through five. Then you flip it: His shooting, his ability to attack the rim, all those things, at his size, are huge for us.”
Reserve Ariel Hukporti played a season-high 22:41 and was a defensive force with six points, seven rebounds, three blocks and one steal.
–Field Level Media
