In New York on Sunday night, a casual observer would have been hard-pressed to determine which team was near the Eastern Conference lead, and which was playing out the string. Both the Knicks and the Toronto Raptors played a sloppy, uninspiring match. Fortunately for the visitors, DeMar DeRozan was in a refuse-to-lose mood. He led all scorers with 27 points, including several eye-popping drives for buckets.
First Half
The Raptors have the market cornered…on slow starts. They traded buckets with the Knicks early, then clanked a bunch of shots in a row. The Knicks didn’t have many wasted trips and took an 11-point lead.