Knicks at Raptors
The Toronto Raptors look for their Eastern Conference-leading 22nd victory when they host the struggling New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon. The red-hot Raptors have won five in a row - including a 110-100 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday - to open up a 9.5 game lead atop the Atlantic Division standings. Toronto has won four straight at the Air Canada Centre and hope to beat the Knicks for the second time in a week before embarking on a six-game road trip.
New York continued its downward descent after falling 99-90 to the Phoenix Suns on Saturday. Even the return of Carmelo Anthony from a one-game absence due to soreness in his left knee couldn't prevent the Knicks from losing their 24th game of the season, which is the most in the NBA. New York has dropped four straight and 15 of its last 16 games and things are likely to go from bad to worse with the Raptors and the Southeast Division-leading Washington Wizards on deck.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, MSG Network (New York) Sportsnet (Toronto)
ABOUT THE KNICKS (5-24): Anthony scored a team-high 25 points to go along with 11 rebounds and three steals in the loss to the Suns, but he may miss Sunday's contest to rest his knee. "I think it's day to day, but he doesn't necessarily like sitting out," New York coach Derek Fisher told reporters. "Hopefully having a couple of days with not playing on Thursday, he has enough in the tank to be there." Ex-Raptor Jose Calderon matched his season-high with 21 points - including 5-of-6 from 3-point range - versus Phoenix.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (21-6): Landry Fields required eight stitches to the back of his head after a scary fall that left him motionless for a few moments on Friday and his status is uncertain. Jonas Valanciunas collected 17 points and seven rebounds while Kyle Lowry contributed 15 points, seven assists and five boards in front of a pro-Toronto crowd in Detroit. "We're a band of brothers," Lowry told reporters. "We can't let our fans down, we need to give them a reason to cheer."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Raptors are 13-3 at home while the Knicks are 2-12 on the road.
2. Toronto is 15-2 against teams with a current losing record.
3. New York has topped 100 points once in its last eight games.