Knicks takeaways from Saturday's 126-100 win over Raptors, including Jalen Brunson's 38 points
RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley made their return to Madison Square Garden, but the Knicks got the best of them and the Toronto Raptors in a 126-100 rout.
Here are the takeaways...
-Jalen Brunson came out hot to start the game, scoring 13 points in the first quarter, including three 3-pointers but sloppy play, including seven first quarter turnovers had New York trailing early.
Down 27-16, Brunson sparked a 15-4 run to close out the quarter with a driving layup followed by a three-pointer a few possessions later to close the deficit within six. The Knicks closed the gap with three-pointers from Josh Hart and Julius Randle to tie the game at 31.
-The second quarter was filled with more turnovers, which the Raptors continued to capitalize on, scoring eight points off of them and 21 total off 13 first-half turnovers for the Knicks.
Despite the Knicks’ sloppiness with the ball, they closed the half up 59-57 in part to 15 points each from Brunson and Randle and a spark from Donte DiVincenzo, who had nine first-half points.
The two teams went back-and-forth the entire half, including five field goals exchanged in the final 90 seconds.
Barrett, who received a standing ovation alongside Quickley during the first quarter, had 15 points for the Raptors in the first half.
-The Knicks started to pull away in the third quarter, led by Brunson, who began hearing the MVP chants again at the Garden as he added another 14 points to his total.
He even went on his own personal 10-2 run which put the Knicks up 14 points before it was snapped by a Thaddeus Young layup. The run was also part of a larger 17-5 run that the Knicks went on that had them up by as much as 19 at one point.
-The Knicks took a 15-point lead into the fourth quarter and did not let the Raptors back into it. In fact, if not for 29 points off 22 New York turnovers, Toronto would have never hung around as long as they did.
Brunson finished with 39 points, nines assists and five rebounds while Randle recorded his first triple-double of the season – with 18 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists - which he achieved before the third quarter had come to an end.
-New York also absolutely dominated under the glass all game, out-rebounding Toronto an astounding 61-31.
-Despite the loss for Toronto, Barrett and Quickley both fared pretty well in their return to New York. Barrett led the Raptors with 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Quickley had 12 points, 11 assists and two rebounds.
Highlights
What's Next
The Knicks head across the river to face the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. ET at Barclays Center.
