Kyle Lowry Notches a Triple-Double in Raptors Blowout Win Over Knicks

The New York Knicks are back in the loss column…

After snapping a seven game losing streak over the weekend, New York is back in familiar territory. Similar to the last couple of games, the Knicks got out to a hot start and then cooled off significantly afterwards.

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Robin Lopez for the second consecutive game in a row, scored double-figures in the opening quarter. Lopez scored a dozen of his total 21 points in the first quarter, shooting 6/7 in the period. It seems like under interim head coach Kurt Rambis, Lopez has been a lot more assertive on offense. The big man has been extremely effective with his hook-shot, showing it off quite frequently lately.

The Knicks played really well in the first quarter, holding a two-point lead over the Toronto Raptors after one-quarter of play; 28-26. In fact, New York basically went toe-to-toe with the Atlantic Division leaders for almost two-third of the second quarter as well. That is, until things unraveled… the Knicks just imploded in the final four minutes of the first half.

New York Knicks

The Raptors went on a 15-2 run to end the first half… Besides the typical lackluster defense, the Knicks really shot themselves in the foot in the final four minutes of the first half. New York missed six straight free-throws… and then to cap it all off… in the final 24 seconds, James Johnson knocks down a three-pointer because Carmelo Anthony was late on the closeout… and then Jose Calderon throws a LAZY pass that gets picked off by DeMar DeRozan, who easily laid it in.

Just like that Toronto went into halftime with a 57-43 lead. The Knicks walked off the floor to massive boos from the home crowd, hearing it from the Madison Square Garden faithfuls for their poor effort.

At the start of the second half, the Knicks showed some signs of life – going on a 9-2 run to get within 59-52 two minutes into the half.

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Dwane Casey called a timeout to stop the momentum, and the Raptors immediately responded with a 12-2 run that gave Toronto a 71-54 lead with 7:24 remaining in the third quarter. The run was capped off by Johnson getting an and-one dunk because Arron Afflalo gave a half-hearted foul. Which really summed up the whole night for New York… the Knicks just gave little, to no effort on Monday night…

Chants of “we want Jimmer” started up in the middle of the third quarter as the game was slipping away from the Knicks (again). Late in the fourth quarter, more “we want Jimmer” chants loudly rained down from MSG when the game was clearly over.

With 1:49 left in the game, the fans finally got what they wanted. Jimmer Fredette checked in for Lance Thomas, and immediately pleased the crowd! MSG cheered enthusiastically as Fredette scored a three-pointer. Here comes JimmerMania!

Although… in the final couple of possessions, Fredette showed his shortcomings as well… allowing an and-one layup by Cory Joseph, and then losing the handle on the ball on the ensuing possession… So as exciting as it is to have Fredette on the main roster now… we have to all keep in mind, that this is his fourth NBA team in five years. Expectations should be tempered.

Toronto dominated the game largely due to All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry, who SHREDDED the Knicks all night! Lowry got into the paint at will… creating scoring opportunities for himself or his teammates. Lowry collected his eighth career triple-double on Monday night with  22 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists.

Lowry got by the Knicks’ guards so easily… it was laughable, collapsing New York’s defense. Lopez and Kristaps Porzingis had to constantly rotate to help the guards, allowing Jonas Valanciunas to go off. The Raptors center easily scored 20 points, as no one rotated over, to help the helper.

Next: New York Knicks: Outside the Box Options for Head Coach

The next opponent will not be any easier, as the Knicks travel to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to take on the Indiana Pacers. Bye-bye Playoffs… -_-“