Delaying rain on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden – yes, it is – would have been much more costly for the Knicks than the Mets dealt with earlier in the day.
While the Knicks were in the process of washing an 18-point lead in the second half, the game was delayed 14 minutes due to falling water from the ceiling on the field.
The Raptors advanced shortly after the game resumed, but RJ Barrett’s 3-pointer with 34.3 seconds left and free throws from Julius Randle ensured a critical 102-96 victory for Tom Thibodeau’s team.
The Knicks’ first eighth win in 10 games against the Raptors in November 2017 was a significant one for them in the Eastern Conference standings, raising their cushion from Toronto’s 11th in six games to 18. The first six teams in each conference automatically qualify for the postseason game, and teams from seven to 10 are subjected to game scenarios.
Randle scored 26 points at the team level, and Barrett scored 19 for the Knicks (27-27), who won consecutive games after giving up five of the previous six. They will play again at home on Monday against the Lakers, who are without injured stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Nerlens Noel contributed nine points, 13 rebounds and four blocks for the Knicks, while Gary Trent Jr. scored 23 points and Kyle Lowry added 19 for the Raptors (21-33).
The Knicks gained a 68-50 lead early in the third quarter, but the Raptors rushed 37-15 to take a 87-83 3-point lead over Rodney Hood with seven minutes left. in the fourth.
The Knicks won the next nine points to regain the lead, including a lead from Barrett and an immediate 3-pointer from Alec Burks for a 92-87 lead with 3:24 remaining. Barrett’s right-hand corner 3 in the last minute extended a one-point cushion to four, and after Pascal Siakam was called to travel with a chance to equalize, Randle took four straight free throws in the final 10 seconds seal victory.
The Raptors were without Fred VanVleet (hip) and OG Anunoby (rest), but scored 135 points without them – and with Lowry and Siakam also off the field – in Saturday’s win over Cleveland.
“They had a number of injuries, but it is a deep and talented team. They earned 87 points in the first half of the game [Friday] night and had a number of players out of that game. So you have to be prepared for them, “Thibodeau said.” They can knock you over and into the open floor, and they’re very dangerous. “
The Knicks’ stifling defense kept the Raptors just 13-for-42 (29.3 percent) in the first half, with Bullock intercepting a Siakam pass on Toronto’s first possession for a dive. The Knicks scored 10 of 12 3-point attempts in the first quarter, but Randle’s three-point conversion in the final seconds gave them a 27-16 lead.
Derrick Rose (11 points) was hacked in a 3-point attempt and knocked down all three wrong shots for a 14-point cushion at the start of the second. Randle, who finished with 18 points in the half, sank two free throws with 13.4 seconds left, while the Knicks had a 56-42 lead at the break.
Barrett and Reggie Bullock (10 points) connected from downtown early in the third to extend the Knicks ’lead to 18. Siakim and Trent combined for 14 in a 16-4 run in Toronto for reduce the lead to six, 72-66, with five minutes left in the quarter.
The game was delayed for 14 minutes, starting at 3:58 in the third quarter, with the Knicks leading by 10, due to what the team called a “small raindrop” coming from the ceiling. After the delay, the Raptors closed at two points, 78-76, until the end of the quarter with 3 points from Trent and Chris Boucher.