The New York Knicks struggled for most of the first half on Wednesday against the Toronto Raptors, and they looked to be in for a long night. That was until the second half, when an unprecedented turnaround resulted in arguably their most inspiring win of the season by a score of 119-92 for their fourth straight win.
Mikal Bridges was dialed in through the second half
Mikal Bridges did not attempt a shot in the first quarter, and only had six points to his name at halftime. In the second half, he was a completely different player, turning in arguably his best performance of the season up to this point.
Bridges scored 24 points in the second half to finish with 30 on the night, shooting hyper-efficient clips of 12-for-15 from the floor and 4-for-6 from three. It was his shot making and his aggression that helped the Knicks quickly overcome a 12-point third quarter deficit and eventually the dominant win.
Bridges has had a strange season, mostly because of his lack of aggression. The aggressive play that he put on display in the second half is what the Knicks need out of him more often, as it would change so much for this team if he can be aggressive with his offense.
OG Anunoby led a defensive juggernaut for the Knicks
The Knicks’ defense has been a stifling group of late, and OG Anunoby led the way on that end of the floor with a dominant performance against his former team.
Anunoby did just about everything, scoring 26 points and dishing five assists on the offensive side, and recording six steals and two blocks on the defensive side. His activity helped keep the game close before they eventually pulled away.
After trailing by 12 midway through the third, the Knicks outscored the Raptors 64-26 the rest of the way. They put on a truly dominant effort on that end of the floor, and it has been a recent trend that has been very promising over the past few games.
New York has held their opponents to under 100 points in three of the last four games, and they own the league’s best defensive rating in that same span at 93.4. Their defensive philosophy has undergone a massive shift, which is a huge sign moving forward.
Turnovers continue to give the Knicks problems
Though it was an inspiring second half, turnovers hurt the Knicks early, which is what gave them problems on Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings.
New York committed 16 turnovers in the game, which is uncharacteristic of them. 10 of those turnovers came in the first half, which was a big reason why they didn’t grab a lead once in the opening half.
However, they took much better care of the ball in the second half, only committing six turnovers. That cleaner stretch of play is what allowed the Knicks to quickly gain control of the game, and they never looked back after that.
Overview
The Knicks sweep the back-to-back with a big road win as they look to close the month strong. They’ll look to make it five straight to end January when they take on the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.