DeRozan leads Raptors past Knicks
TORONTO -- DeMar DeRozan led the way with 23 points as the Toronto Raptors thumped the New York Knicks 116-101 on Sunday at Air Canada Centre.
DeRozan added five assists and five rebounds while DeMarre Carrroll added 20 points and Kyle Lowry chipped in with 16 points, nine assists and four rebounds.
Norman Powell added 21 points off the bench in the win.
With the win, the Raptors (27-13) have now won five straight meetings with the Knicks and are 8-2 overall against New York (18-23) since the start of the 2014-15 season. Toronto stretched its current win streak to three games with the victory.
Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 18 points, Derrick Rose added 16 points and three assists in the loss.
Carroll led the way with 15 third quarter points as the Raptors opened the second half on a 21-2 run pushing their lead to 34. The Knicks had just two points through the first 9:20 of the half and trailed 96-62 through three quarters.
Toronto held New York to eight points in the third quarter, tying the all-time opponent low for points in the third (January 2007 vs. Charlotte).
Lowry had eight second quarter points and Ross added 12 while going 4 for 5 from 3-point range off the bench as the Raptors out-scored the Knicks 24-14 in a 6:59 span of the second quarter lead 69-54 at halftime. A total of five Raptors scored in double digits through the first two quarters.
Anthony and Rose each had 16 for the Knicks at the break.
After Toronto opened a13-5 lead in the first quarter, the Knicks out-scored the Raptors 21-14 closing Toronto's lead to one, 27-26.
DeRozan led the Raptors with 10 points, including a 4 for 4 from the line while Anthony had a team-high 10 points for the Knicks going 4 of 5 from the field and a perfect 2 for 2 from 3-point range.
Both teams showed rust early with the Raptors shooting 2 for 10 from the field to start the game and the Knicks going 1 of 7.
Less than two minutes into the first, Knicks forward Lance Thomas was hit with an elbow on the left side of his face, left the game and did not return. Mindaugas. Kuzminskas was subbed into Thomas spot in the lineup.
NOTES: Knicks C Kristaps Porzingis missed his fifth consecutive game due to a sore left Achilles tendon. ... Raptors F Patrick Patterson missed his second game with left knee soreness and was replaced by C Lucas Nogueira in the starting lineup. Patterson missed four games earlier this month due to the injury. He is considered day-to-day, according to coach Dwane Casey. ... Sunday was the second of four meetings between the two clubs this season. The two teams meet again when Toronto visits New York on Feb. 27. ... The Raptors begin a three-game road trip on Tuesday in Brooklyn while the Knicks return home to host the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.