(Reuters) — Jalen Brunson scored 26 points and added 10 assists Tuesday night to help the visiting New York Knicks defeat the Toronto Raptors 111-95.
The Knicks have won all four games against the Raptors this season and 12 straight against them overall. The Knicks finished the game on a 16-2 run.
Former Raptor OG Anunoby added 15 points. Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks. Josh Hart and Landry Shamet scored 12 points each, and Mikal Bridges tallied 11.
Brandon Ingram scored 26 of his 31 points in the first half for the Raptors. Former Knick RJ Barrett chipped in 20 points, and Scottie Barnes added 14. Another former Knick, Immanuel Quickley, contributed 13 points and 12 assists.
New York took a five-point lead into the fourth quarter. Quickley’s eight-foot floater cut the margin to two with 5:50 to play.
Bridges’ cutting dunk gave New York a four-point advantage with 4:37 remaining, sparking a 9-0 run. The Knicks took an 11-point lead when Hart’s layup finished a 3-on-1 break with 1:53 to go.
Brunson’s three-point play gave New York a 14-point lead with 1:06 remaining.
The Knicks closed the first quarter with a 15-4 run to lead 32-31.
New York extended the run when it opened the second-quarter scoring with Anunoby’s 3-pointer and Towns’ cutting layup.
Toronto answered with six straight points to tie the game at 37. The Knicks’ defense tightened, allowing New York to respond with a 13-2 run to lead by 11 points with 6:51 remaining in the second quarter.
Mohamed Diawara’s step back 3-pointer bumped the margin to 13 before Toronto’s 7-0 burst pared the lead to six with 1:17 left. New York led 68-58 at halftime.
New York shot 68.3% (28 of 41) from the field in the first half and Toronto shot 50% (21 of 42).
Toronto was more physical in the third quarter, and Quickley’s step back 3-pointer trimmed the lead to two with 7:41 remaining. The Knicks answered with a 7-0 burst capped by Shamet’s 3-pointer.
A Barnes alley-oop dunk completed Toronto’s 8-0 run that moved the Raptors to within two points with 59 seconds left. New York led 87-82 after three quarters.
