Way better than the first time Toronto’s preferred starting group finally played as a healthy unit, much more engaged, far more in sync and much more competitive.
There were some encouraging signs to emerge from yet another road loss as Toronto began its three-game trip Wednesday night at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
A bounce-back performance was a must and on that front the Raptors would deliver.
Of Toronto’s starting five, Scottie Barnes didn’t settle for three-point shots and had a decent overall game.
The one concern was Gradey Dick and his shot, which continues to be off.
Adding to the concern list was a back injury suffered to Ochai Agbaji, who has been the only player to appear in all 37 games this season.
Appearing in his 38th game remains an unknown.
The Knicks are known for running their starters into the ground, but they did enter the night having lost three straight.
A fourth successive defeat would be averted following New York’s 112-98 win over the Raptors, who battled and remained in the hunt until their lack of offence did them in.
When Barnes did launch three-pointers, his shot selection was solid.
Former Knicks point guard Immanuel Quickley played with that bounce he showed when he returned from an extended injury absence in helping the Raptors end their 11-game losing slide.
He couldn’t help Toronto’s road record, which dropped to 1-16.
The Raptors had no answer for Karl-Anthony Towns, while OG Anunoby had another solid outing against his former team.
Despite some encouraging signs, and there were a few, Toronto’s on-the-ball defence remains a concern, but its offence, outside of the BBQ trio, needs to improve, which is where Dick has to step up.
Toronto started well, at least, by controlling the game’s opening tip.
On the game’s opening possession, a nice sequence began with a Jakob Poeltl screen at the high post that led to an open look for Dick in the right corner.
His three-point heave missed, almost setting the tone for Dick for what would ensue.
Solid defence by the Raptors allowed the visitors to get out in transition where Quickley buried a three-pointer.
Offensively, the Raptors moved well and passed well.
Defensively, they were active.
Poeltl was matched up against Towns, who had a decided advantage when Poeltl was asked to extend his defence.
On one sequence, KAT easily took Poeltl off the dribble before finishing at the rim on a dunk, one of the many moments when the big man simply dominated.
When Josh Hart drilled a three-ball five minutes into the opening period, the Raptors called a timeout.
Through the game’s opening minutes, the only starter not to attempt a shot was Barnes, whose lone stat line was the one rebound he recorded, but as the night played out his activity and efficiency improved.
When play resumed, head coach Darko Rajakovic went to bench, inserting Agbaji and Jamal Shead before Bruce Brown checked in roughly 30 second later, leaving Poeltl and RJ Barrett as the lone starters on the floor.
When Kelly Olynyk entered, he gave Toronto’s maligned second unit a boost.
He couldn’t beat the buzzer on a runner to end the first quarter, but the Raptors at least brought an energy level that went missing in two horrible home losses to Orlando and Milwaukee.
Still, the five first-quarter turnovers were hard to overcome in trailing, 28-24, but it could have been worse.
Half of Toronto’s points were produced by its bench.
Interestingly, Dick played five minutes in the first quarter, missing all four of his attempts.
When he saw the floor next, there were six minutes remaining in the second quarter with the Knicks leading, 46-38, as Toronto went with its starting unit to close out the opening half.
Before halftime arrived, it was announced Agbaji had suffered a lower back contusion after he collided with Hart contesting a rebound.
He would not return.
Toronto’s deficient three-point defence was much better in the first half, but its defence inside the three-point line wasn’t on point.
Regardless, the Raptors were competitive in trailing, 55-51, at the break.
After missing his first five shots, Dick finally made one minutes into the second half.
Good for a few stretches, the Raptors are simply not good enough to sustain any level of play that will give them a chance to win or at least add some late-game drama.
When the Knicks started to empty their bench in the fourth quarter, one knew the outcome was no longer in doubt.
Chris Boucher lit it up when given minutes, for what it’s worth knowing the game was out of reach.
Wednesday’s tip was originally scheduled to be aired on ESPN, allowing a national audience down south to catch a rare glimpse of the Raptors.
Saner heads eventually prevailed realizing the Raptors aren’t good and weren’t going to attract a crowd, resulting in the opening tap being pushed back 30 minutes to 7:30 p.m.
Only once last season were the Raptors featured on a national broadcast in the United States with zero national games this season.
Up next for Toronto is a Thursday night date in Cleveland against a Cavs team that played host to the OKC Thunder on Wednesday in a potential NBA final preview.
In two previous meetings against the Raptors, the Cavs’ combined winning margin has been 44 points.
Before the Raptors boarded their charter for Cleveland, the club announced they had signed Canadian forward Eugene Omoruyi to a 10-day contract.
When Bruno Fernando was waived a day earlier, the team had a roster spot open.
With the Raptors 905 this season, Omoruyi played in four games.
He has NBA experience having played 87 games with Dallas, OKC, Detroit and Washington.