Knicks at Raptors
If the New York Knicks hope to earn a split of their home-and-home series with the Toronto Raptors, they'll need to figure out how to keep Jonas Valanciunas from dominating the glass. The seven-foot Lithuanian looks to build on a career-best rebounding performance as he and the Raptors host the struggling Knicks on Saturday night. Valanciunas had 16 points and 18 rebounds while DeMar DeRozan added 25 points in the Raptors' 95-83 triumph on Friday night.
New York came out strong in its second straight game without leading scorer and rebounder Carmelo Anthony (ankle), but couldn't do much of anything in a one-sided fourth quarter. The Knicks were outscored 29-12 over the final 12 minutes, spoiling an 18-point, 12-rebound performance from Andrea Bargnani against the team that made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 draft. Bargnani is sure to face a hostile reception in his first Toronto appearance since the trade.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), TSN2 (Toronto)
ABOUT THE KNICKS (9-20): New York fans may not agree with the path, but owner James Dolan has told Knicks players and coaches that no significant changes are in the offing. This despite a 4-12 home record, a point differential well below minus-four and continued calls for head coach Mike Woodson to be fired. The offense struggled mightily Friday night with Anthony on the sidelines, shooting just 38 percent from the field despite connecting on 10 of 19 attempts from beyond the arc.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (12-15): Toronto's fourth-quarter explosion against the Knicks may have trended toward the extreme, but it was hardly the first time the Raptors have finished strong. They entered Friday's play with the fourth-best fourth-quarter scoring differential in the league at plus-1.6 - behind only the Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder. That ranking stands in stark contract to the team's performance a season ago, when it finished tied for second-last at minus-1.5 points per fourth quarter.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. After failing to record a double-double in his last 55 games with Toronto, Bargnani has two in his last five games.
2. Anthony is not expected to play Saturday.
3. Valanciunas has made 16 of his last 21 shot attempts versus the Knicks.