Knicks 112, Raptors 108: Two thumbs up
Oh what a difference a year makes.
Remember this? Happened a year ago yesterday.
How about this? From the same game.
That night the Knicks staged a brilliant second-half comeback to win at home against their biggest rivals. Evan Fournier led the way with 41 points. Alec Burks played 38 minutes. Quentin Grimes played six. Miles McBride didn’t play any. The story after the game, even more than RJ Barrett’s miraculous game-winner, was Julius Randle revealing his thumbs down to the fans was body language for “Shut the $#@! Up.”
Last night the Knicks undulated between dominating and holding on for dear life to win at Toronto, where they’d lost their past 10 meetings (11 if you can’t the Covid year Tampa Raptors). Fournier scored four points in 12 minutes. Burks played 21 for Detroit in a loss in San Antonio. Grimes played 36, scoring 16. McBride played 21 and hit consecutive threes in the fourth to send Toronto’s comeback back to the shadow. The only talk about Randle after this one was about yet another scintillating performance by him, how he continues to solidify his All-Star credentials.
New York earns one thumbs up simply for being here for this game, for persisting. Fournier has been a man without a role, enduring six straight weeks of DNPs before returning to the rotation after RJ Barrett fatality’d his own finger. Yet there he was, scrapping on defense, helping out on the glass and throwing in a couple of twos, a couple of dimes. Both Fournier’s assists led to the McBride treys. Those two players were on the floor as good things kept piling up for the Knicks. Twas no accident.
New York’s defense showed up, too. The last time these teams met the Raptors, Pascal Siakam scored 52 and took as many free throws as the entire Knick team; last night he was held to 18, with a third fewer free-throw attempts. There’s a roiling cosmogony of very good power forwards who seem to alternate career years between themselves: Randle, Siakam, Damontas Sabonis and Jerami Grant. A couple of weeks after Siakam’s career-night against the Knicks, Randle was once again the best player on the floor.
New York earns its second thumbs up for its capacity for change. The caricature of Tom Thibodeau is that of a man who only drinks black coffee, eats ribeye three times a day and screws missionary-style. But we’ve seen plenty of evidence Thibs will take a little cream and sugar, doesn’t hate broccoli and even has a toy or two tucked in the back of his closet. Grimes and Immanuel Quickley were just behind Randle and Jalen Brunson in minutes played. Fournier deserves credit for staying professional while waiting for his number to be called; Thibodeau deserves credit for calling it. A lot has changed in 12 months. The long and short of it is Thibs is only the fourth man alive who’s won 100+ games with the Knicks while boasting a winning record. A lot more goes into that than just Thibodeau, yes. But a lot of what goes into that is Thibodeau.
Lastly, a separate commendation for Randle. The Raptors are the kind of team that can give him trouble, with their multiple switchable defenders and lack of any defensive weak spots. Him hitting five 3-pointers in the first quarter laid down the gauntlet in true Rohrscharch fashion – he wasn’t locked in Scotiabank Bank arena with the Raptors; they were locked in with him. Randle has raised his game and his aura this season, and not coincidentally, so have the Knicks.
So two thumbs up for these new Knickerbockers, one of just three teams with a winning road record. They’re next test is their next game Monday, when they host Milwaukee. The Knicks, curiously, have played better on the road than at home this year, and Giannis Antetokounmpo is a far tougher matchup than Siakam. We’ll see how that one turns out. Odds are no matter what happens, the fans and the Knicks will be on the same page. Progress is progress.
