The New York Knicks ended a three-game losing streak last night when they defeated the Toronto Raptors 112-98 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Karl-Anthony Towns, who missed the previous game with right knee patellar tendinopathy, scored 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Knicks. Former Raptor OG Anunoby, who the Knicks acquired from Toronto a little over a year ago, also had 27 points.
After their nine-game winning streak was stopped on Friday by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Knicks lost games to the Bulls in Chicago and the Orlando Magic in New York City before last night’s win. The Knicks will host the Western Conference’s best Thunder on Friday night, who had a 15-game regular season winning streak snapped by the Cleveland Cavaliers last night. Oklahoma City has a 30-6 record, while the Knicks are 25-13.
“We got to approach that like we just approached it,” Knicks shooting guard Josh Hart said of the upcoming game against the Thunder. “Every game we’re not playing a championship game on Jan. 10. That’s one of the best, if not the best team in the league. Some of them might be the MVP. We got to go out there with energy. I am just hoping I don’t fall again. And hopefully get the win.”
“I think we are playing good basketball,” Towns said about the Knicks, who have won 10 of their last 13 games. “Unfortunately, there has to be a winner and loser in every game. I think that (against) OKC and Chicago, those two games showed the level we can play at against anybody. Obviously, you have to sustain it for 48 minutes, but when you look at those games and you look at the film you really like what you see from this team. Not only from the physical aspect of our talent and scoring points but just the vibes and the mentality. There are a lot of good things, but we have to find a way for 48 minutes and we are still blessed to be early in the season where we have a lot of time to figure it out.”
