The New York Knicks looked to win their first NBA Cup game of the season Friday night against the Indiana Pacers. After playing flawless basketball and looking like the championship team they were a season ago, the Knicks fell apart, trailing by double digits multiple times. New York was down as much as 14 points before they tried to make their heroic comeback, and trailed by six with a minute left. With luck on their side for the time being, the Knicks would make it a two-point game, but when Karl-Anthony Towns had the opportunity to push the game into overtime with a last-second shot, it rattled off the rim, giving the Pacers a 106-104 win. Now, New York at 6-6 will look to avoid falling under .500 during their Sunday night matchup against the Toronto Raptors.
Towns would make history in Friday’s loss when he recorded his 12th consecutive double-double, breaking the great Willis Reed’s record of 11. The six-time all-star finished the game with 23 points and 15 rebounds, along with five assists and three steals. Jalen Brunson dropped a game-high of 33 points, while Mikal Bridges easily had his best outing of the season with 18 points on eight of 12 shooting. The Knicks’ biggest issue was their foul trouble and being out-rebounded by one of the worst rebounding teams in the league this season. New York was out-rebounded by seven. If they were able to grab one or two of those boards that went Indiana’s way, they certainly could have forced the game to overtime at least, if not won the game.
Toronto comes into Sunday’s matchup at 5-7 and without their newly re-acquired star, Kawhi Leonard, who’s been out since late October with left knee swelling. Scottie Barnes has led the Raptors, averaging nearly 24 points a game, along with leading the team with eight rebounds a night; however, he has been listed as day-to-day with a left groin and adductor strain. During Toronto’s Thursday, November 12th loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, two former Knicks, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, shone as Barrett finished with 31 and Quickley dropped 26 in a 123-112 loss. Philadelphia out-shot, out-rebounded, and committed fewer turnovers than Toronto. The Raptors must up the aggression, especially if they are without their two star players.
This matchup is certainly going to be decided by who wins the rebounding battle and who commits fewer turnovers. Both teams are at a pivotal point in their season, and neither is where they want to be in terms of expectations. A loss Sunday night pushes an Atlantic Division rival further towards the bottom half of the Eastern Conference. Whoever wins this game, it will come down to who grabbed more rebounds and who was more efficient with the ball.
The last few times, I surely expected the Knicks to win, and they lost. So I’m going to swing my prediction to the Raptors winning this game. Barrett and Quickley will look to dominate their old team, while Jakob Poeltl and Collin Murray-Boyles must box out and out-rebound the Knicks’ big men. As much as I’ve loved to see New York bounce back on track, I’m going to say Toronto walks away with a 110-100 win at home.
