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Raptors cruise by Knicks with dominant third quarter

Xinhua, January 16, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Toronto Raptors coasted by the New York Knicks 116-101 in Sunday afternoon's NBA game to finish their four-game home stand with a 3-1 record.

The game was closely contested in the first quarter, with Toronto up 27-26 at the end of the frame. By halftime, the Raptors extended their lead to 15 points.

Toronto put the game out of reach in the third quarter with a 25-2 run in the first 9 minutes and 20 seconds of the frame, creating a 38-point margin. Ultimately, Toronto outscored the Knicks 27-8 in the quarter, the first time this season the Raptors have held an opponent under ten points in a quarter.

"I was really proud of the way the starters came out and set the tone, especially starting the third quarter," said Dwane Casey following the victory. "That's usually been our Achilles heel, but they set the tone defensively and built a 30-plus (point) lead."

Prior to the game, Casey's squad struggled in third quarter, outscoring their opponents by an average of half a point per game. This is the team's second-worst quarter, trailing the first frame where Toronto was outscored by 0.7 points. In contrast, Raptors outscored their opponents by 5.2 points and 2.6 points respectively in the fourth and second quarters.

At the start of the final period, Toronto led 96-62 and prompted Casey to rest all of his starters, including two-time All-Stars DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry.

"It's huge," Casey told Xinhua after the game. "To cut down his (DeRozan's) minutes and cut down Kyle's minutes is important."

DeRozan scored a game-high 23 points, the 28th time he has led the team in scoring this season, while Lowry chipped in with 16 points and nine assists. The duo played less than 29 minutes apiece, well below their season averages.

"You don't see it all at once, but as the year goes on, their movement gets slower," Casey elaborated. "We want to make sure we watch their minutes. When you play that way and get leads, you can get rest and that's very important."

Entering the game, Lowry ranked first in the league with an average of 37.4 minutes per game, while DeRozan ranked 14th with 35.5 minutes. Endit