The Raptors are rollin'! Toronto stormed back to beat the Knicks 95-83 at Madison Square Garden. With the win, the Raptors have completed their 4 game road trip; winning 3 of those 4 games. The Raptors dominated the 4th quarter outscoring the Knicks 29-12.
Jonas Valanciunas & Kyle Lowry each had double-doubles, with 16 points and 18 rebounds (a career high in rebounds for JV) and 15 points and 11 assists respectively. DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors in scoring, putting up 25 points.
With the Knicks' superstar Carmelo Anthony out of the game with a sprained left ankle, and the Raptors being Andrea Bargnani's former team, Bargs tried to stamp his imprint on the game early. He had 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks after the 1st quarter! But, as Raptors fans have seen firsthand over the years, Bargnani ended the game with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
In Toronto's previous 11 wins this season, they are averaging 20.5 assists as a team; sharing the ball and getting multiple players involved offensively. The trend proved true again in this game, as the Raptors had 21 assists as a team. The Raptors currently have a 1 game lead in the Atlantic Division ahead of the Boston Celtics, for 1st place in the division.
Toronto will look to keep this momentum going, as the 2 teams will do it all over again tonight playing the 2nd game of the back-to-back/home & home at the Air Canada Centre, on 'DeMar DeRozan Bobblehead Night'.
Postgame interviews:
DeMar DeRozan:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=
Z-tNXC3RE8Q[/youtube]
Kyle Lowry:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=
gf7TTiIIFys[/youtube]
Dwane Casey:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=
tNiC1nvK_j0[/youtube]
(Photo Credit: NBAE/Getty Images)
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
