Jonas Valanciunas had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Serge Ibaka added 13
points and eight rebounds to lead seven Toronto Raptors in double
figures in a 113-88 win over the visiting New York Knicks on Thursday
night at Air Canada Centre.
Michael Beasley had 21 points to lead the Knicks, who lost for the fifth
straight game to fall a season-worst 10 games under .500 (23-33). No
other New York player had more than Trey Burke’s 12 points in the
Knicks’ first game without leading-scorer Kristaps Porzingis, who was
lost for the season with a torn ACL in Tuesday’s loss to Milwaukee.
Toronto’s bench dominated New York’s, as five Raptor reserves scored in
double figures, led by Pascal Siakam’s 14 points. Jakob Poeltl had 13
points and Delon Wright and CJ Miles each added 11 for Toronto, which
moved to 23-4 at home. Toronto has won four straight games and six of
seven.
With Porzingis and Enes Kanter (mouth) out, the Knicks had no answer for
the Raptors inside. Toronto outrebounded New York 52-43 and held the
Knicks to 40 percent shooting, including 26 percent from 3-point range.
Aside from Beasley, New York’s other four starters – Tim Hardaway Jr.,
Kyle O’Quinn, Jarrett Jack and Courtney Lee – combined for 13-of-37
shooting.
The Knicks kept it close early, trailing 17-16 late in the first
quarter, but the Raptors took an 11-point lead midway through the second
quarter and went into the halftime break up 52-41. Toronto extended the
lead in the third and fourth quarters, outscoring the Knicks in the
second half, 61-47.
New York heads to Indiana tomorrow for a matchup with the Pacers, while
the Raptors head on the road tomorrow for the first time after a 4-0
homestand with a matinee tilt at Charlotte. The Knicks are currently on a
2-8 stretch that has them 5 1/2 games out of the eighth seed in the
Eastern Conference playoff race.
Celtics in overtime
The Boston Celtics maintained a one-game advantage over Toronto atop the
East with a 110-104 overtime victory over the Wizards in Washington.
Kyrie Irving scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and
overtime as the Celtics bounced back from a loss to the Raptors on
Tuesday.
Trailing at halftime, they emerged from a tight third quarter with a
five-point lead and stretched it to as many as 10 in the fourth. But
they needed three clutch free throws from Irving, who was fouled on a
three-point attempt and made all the foul shots to knot the score at
98-98 with 9.8 seconds left in regulation.
It went to overtime when Bradley Beal’s tough jump shot contested by
Irving at the buzzer missed. Jaylen Brown scored five of his 18 points
for Boston in overtime, when the Celtics out-scored the Wizards 12-6 to
finally put the game away.
His three-pointer with 1:43 remaining put the Celtics up 108-103, and
the Wizards wouldn’t get the deficit below four points from there.
“The shot clock was going down so I took my time and shot a shot that
I’ve been practising,” Brown said of the step-back three. “I’ve been
working on it a lot, and it showed itself in the game.”
The Portland Trail Blazers won in overtime, too, stretching their home
winning streak to nine games with a 109-103 triumph over the Charlotte
Hornets. It was close in Orlando, where Evan Fournier’s 22 points led
the Magic in a 100-98 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
The Magic were also boosted by 18 points and nine assists from point
guard D.J. Augustin – newly arrived from Phoenix in a trade-deadline
deal.
The Los Angeles Lakers, still awaiting the arrival of their
trade-deadline acquisitions from Cleveland Isaiah Thomas and Channing
Frye, defeated the under-manned Oklahoma City Thunder 106-81.
It was their second win in five days over the Thunder – who were without
injured Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
scored 20 points, leading five Lakers in double figures. Paul George
scored 29 points for Oklahoma City.
Lakers coach Luke Walton was pleased to see his young team dig in
against the Thunder on a day when many were unsettled by the departure
of Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. in the deal with Cleveland.
Walton noted that it was the first time some of the Lakers had teammates
shipped out suddenly. “It was pretty quiet in the film room,” he said.
“I didn’t know how long it would take, but the energy before the game
was already better.”
Toronto Raptors forward Serge Ibaka shoots for a basket over New York Knicks forward Michael Beasley in the second-half of their NBA game at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports