What a difference a week can make.
Exactly seven days after nearly falling to the New York Knicks in overtime, the Toronto Raptors faced that same Knicks team Sunday and made light work of them, winning handily 118-108 in a contest that really was never in doubt right from the opening tip.
Granted, this time around the Raptors were back in the friendly confines of Air Canada Centre, where they now boast a 14-3 record (the most home wins of any team in the NBA), Amar’e Stoudemire wasn’t present and Carmelo Anthony is dealing with nagging knee soreness, but given the effort seen even if the Raptors were back at Madison Square Garden under the exact same circumstances as last Sunday, the result would likely be very similar.
The issue in New York was a lack of energy, urgency and uncharacteristic sloppy play. All three of these factors were corrected on Sunday and that allowed the Raptors to be in full control for the length of the game.
At no point did the Knicks lead, and the 10-point victory is deceptive as the Raptors were actually up much larger than that and would’ve won more convincingly had they not gone on cruise control for the entirety of the fourth quarter.
Defensively, Sunday wasn’t the Raptors’ best effort, but in what has been the norm this season, it was good enough to allow what is a devastatingly balanced Raptors’ offence to do the rest. Every Toronto starter reached double-digit scoring except for Amir Johnson, while Lou Williams and Greivis Vasquez both eclipsed 20 off the bench.
Kyle Lowry, in particular, was impressive, shooting an ultra-efficient 7-of-12 from the field and dropping nine dimes, further bolstering his MVP candidacy. By comparison, when Lowry faced the Knicks in New York, he needed 19 shots to reach 21 points.
With the win, the Raptors racked off their sixth straight games and continued their excellent play against lesser opponents, improving to 15-2 against teams under .500. This is the kind of padding that can only help, particularly with a tough road trip on the way to ring in the New Year.
Starting Monday in Chicago, the Raptors open up a six-game road trip that includes five Western Conference dates after Christmas.
“I’m ready for it,” coach Dwane Casey told reporters of the looming road trip. “I’ve been preaching it, and we should be ready for it. Everyone is all excited. But again, reality is real, and we have to be ready for adversity whenever it hits. You go in with positive vibes and are ready to kick some behind, but when adversity hits that’s when you find out how close we are and how we have to stick together.”
Dealing with adversity has been a theme Casey and the rest of the team have talked about since training camp, so it will be interesting to see how the Raptors respond should things sour on them while on the road.
Should things go south while on the road, the Raptors can rely on victories like Sunday’s to keep them atop the East.
Seven days ago, the Raptors looked horrific, playing an overtime contest against a team that never should’ve been in the game with them. Since then, Toronto has had no problems disposing clubs that are beneath them. Now it’s time to see if the Raptors can go toe-to-toe with equal competition.