New York Knicks keep winning under Mike Woodson; Trounce Toronto Raptors 106-87 - NBA Recap
On Tuesday night New York Knicks rolled onto a 4 game winning streak under interim coach Mike Woodson after decimating Toronto Raptors, 106-87 here at Madison Square Garden.
Amare Stoudemire powered the Knicks with a game high 22 points and 12 rebounds while Jeremy Lin tallied 18 points and dished out 10 assists. Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler collected 17 points each to help New York.
“Guys are playing at a very high, confident level right now," Carmelo Anthony said after the game. "We just want to bottle that up and move on and keep it going."
DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors bench with 17 points and Andrea Bargnani poured in 15 while Jose Calderon, who played his 1st match after missing 5 games due to sprained ankle, barely missed his double-double with 11 points
and 9 assists.
The Knicks seem to have found an extra gear ever since Woodson took hold of the reins. In the last four games, they shown great hustle and have been defending the ball as if their lives depended on it. Even Raptors coach Dwane
Casey, who himself is a great defensive tactician, was impressed by what he saw;
"They're a tenacious, different team it’s amazing, their tenacity, the way they attack. If you don't meet it, they take you out."
The opening frame remained closely contested and midway through the frame Knicks only had a slender 12-11 lead. They pushed it further to 23-17 with an 11-6 run but Raptors trimmed it down to 27-24 by the end.
Toronto tied the scores at 29 each early in the 2nd but New York blasted their way out of the stalemate with a 15-5 spurt and claimed a double digit 44-34 advantage. The lead grew to 53-44 by the end of 1st
half.
With 10:15 to expire in 3rd frame Knicks were ahead by 55-48 when Lin banked a fade away that initiated into a 15-6 run, allowing New York to take a comfortable 70-54 lead.
Despite some resistance, the Knicks maintained their double digit lead in the following passage and as the game entered into its last 12 minutes, they were having a 79-68 advantage. Early into the decisive frame, the Raptors reduced
the deficit to 81-72 but they were left baffled after New York blasted away with a huge 21-7 spurt.
In a 102-79 hole, with just a little over three minutes remaining on the clock, the Raps never stood a chance and they frizzled out to 106-87 loss.
Mike Woodson was all praise for his team.
"Guys are being so unselfish that it really looks good from an offensive standpoint because the ball is moving and screens are being set offensively and guys are making shots and that's the beauty of playing offense."
Tags: