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Raptors fall to Knicks after seesaw second half

The Knicks snapped a nine-game losing streak to Toronto.
 
The Knicks' Julius Randle tries to keep the ball from the Raptors' Kyle Lowry during Sunday's game at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks' Julius Randle tries to keep the ball from the Raptors' Kyle Lowry during Sunday's game at Madison Square Garden. [ RICH SCHULTZ | Getty Images North America ]
Published April 12, 2021|Updated April 12, 2021

NEW YORK — Julius Randle scored 26 points and the Knicks recovered after blowing an 18-point lead to beat the Raptors 102-96 on Sunday night.

The Knicks won their second straight to get back to .500.

“We’ve been in tough stretches, had tough games, tough breaks, close calls all season long,” Randle said. “It’s good to eventually get over that hump.”

New York led 66-48 early in the third quarter but lost momentum when the game was delayed because the court was wet. The Raptors used a 37-15 run to surge to a four-point lead with 7 minutes left, but RJ Barrett hit a 3-pointer with the Knicks leading by one with 35 seconds to play.

The Knicks snapped a nine-game losing streak to Toronto. New York had not beaten the Raptors since Nov. 22, 2017, at home.

Gary Trent Jr. had 23 points and Chris Boucher 17 points and 14 rebounds for Toronto. Kyle Lowry had 19 points in his return to the lineup after missing five consecutive games with a right foot infection.

Malachi Flynn hit back-to-back 3s to give Toronto an 87-83 lead with 8:19 left. The Knicks then put together a 9-0 run to go up 92-87 on Alec Burks’ 3 with 3:34 left.

Toronto got as close as 95-94 on Lowry’s layup with 53 seconds left before Randle found Barrett for his 3-pointer.

Pascal Siakam scored to cut Toronto’s deficit to 98-96. Toronto had a chance to tie when Lowry came up with a steal to start a fast break. But Siakam was called for a double dribble with about 10 seconds left.

“Just an unfortunate one there,” Toronto coach Nick Nurse said.

TORONTO (96): Bembry 0-1 0-0 0, Siakam 5-18 5-5 16, Boucher 6-10 4-4 17, Lowry 5-10 7-8 19, Trent Jr. 9-17 2-2 23, Gillespie 0-1 0-0 0, Hood 1-4 0-0 3, Watanabe 3-5 0-0 8, Birch 2-4 0-2 4, Flynn 2-9 1-2 6. Totals 33-79 19-23 96.

NEW YORK (102): Bullock 4-11 0-0 10, Randle 7-19 11-11 26, Noel 4-7 1-2 9, Barrett 7-12 2-3 19, Payton 5-7 0-0 11, Gibson 0-3 2-2 2, Knox II 0-0 1-2 1, Toppin 1-2 0-0 2, Burks 2-9 3-4 8, Ntilikina 0-0 0-0 0, Quickley 1-8 0-0 3, Rose 4-10 3-3 11. Totals 35-88 23-27 102.

Toronto 16 26 34 20 — 96

New York 27 29 22 24 — 102

3-Point Goals—Toronto 11-34 (Trent Jr. 3-8, Watanabe 2-4, Lowry 2-7, Boucher 1-3, Hood 1-3, Flynn 1-4, Siakam 1-5), New York 9-35 (Barrett 3-6, Bullock 2-8, Payton 1-2, Burks 1-4, Quickley 1-6, Randle 1-8). Fouled Out—Toronto 1 (Siakam), New York None. Rebounds—Toronto 40 (Boucher 14), New York 46 (Noel 13). Assists—Toronto 19 (Siakam 7), New York 19 (Barrett, Randle 5). Total Fouls—Toronto 23, New York 19. A—1,833 (19,812)