The New York Knicks and the Toronto Raptors are both looking to start their game on Monday night with more energy than they did in their last matches.
Both teams struggled to pick up their pace until it was too late in losses on Saturday night.
The Knicks, who played without center Karl-Anthony Towns, fell behind by as many as 17 points but managed to cut the lead to two before losing 120-111 to the Detroit Pistons at home. New York never had the lead in the game.
“We started slow,” said Jalen Brunson, who scored 31 points and had 10 assists. “They dictated the pace and the physicality, and they played well with the lead all game.”
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau added, “The way we started the game, they got going offensively and we weren’t into the ball, didn’t challenge shots. Got in a big hole early and then played from behind.”
Towns, who averages 25.2 points and a team-high 13.2 rebounds per game, was scratched after warming up before the game. He is questionable for Monday’s game because of left knee soreness.
Reserve guard Cameron Payne is also questionable after missing his second straight game on Saturday due to a swollen elbow.
“You’re not going to replace (Towns) individually and Cam, but collectively we can,” Thibodeau said. “We can play great defense. We can rebound the ball as a team, and that’s what you have to do. You’re not going to rely on one guy to get you 13 rebounds, but collectively we can do it. That’s where we have to be better. We have to learn from it.”
New York fell behind by double digits less than four minutes into the game and trailed 39-23 after the first quarter.
“We lacked energy in that first quarter,” said Josh Hart, who scored 17 points. “Didn’t come out aggressive, physical. … We’ve just got to be better. There’s been a couple lulls in the first quarter that we’ve got to fix. We can’t always try to dig ourselves out of holes.”
The Raptors made a late push, coming within five points of the Dallas Mavericks after trailing by 24, but they lost 125-118. Toronto has now lost two straight home games after winning the previous four.
“I don’t think that we played hard enough in the first half,” said Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic. “I think we played really hard in the second half. …I’m really pleased with how we played (in the) second half.
“We ended up with (37) assists. That was a big emphasis for us, trusting the pass and playing together. I thought that we overall played a good game, but against that type of opponent, you’ve got to bring it for 48 minutes.”
Gradey Dick led Toronto with 27 points. Jakob Poeltl (illness) returned after missing one game and had 20 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Scottie Barnes scored 19 points and had a career-high 14 assists, marking his sixth double-double in the past seven games.
Kelly Olynyk made his season debut for the Raptors after missing the first 23 games with a back issue. He scored 13 points in 14 minutes off the bench.
“The shooting that Kelly brings to the team, that’s a big factor there,” Rajakovic said. “He’s still very good playing in a pocket pass. He’s a very good connector, finding his teammates.
“I think he’s going to really help that second unit and we’re going to take a look at what it looks like when he’s playing five, when he’s playing four, when he’s in different spots on the court.”
Toronto lost all four games to New York last season.
