With a win tonight, the Toronto Raptors could’ve clinched the Atlantic Division, but instead lost to the New York Knicks 108-100. The quest for 50 wins is also now unreachable, and a potential 1st – round matchup vs. the Brooklyn Nets, becomes more and more a possibility with the Chicago Bulls sliding into 3rd. However, with the magic number being at “1” for a Division title, the Raptors were still able to clinch one thanks in large part to the Atlanta Hawks defeating the Brooklyn Nets tonight as well. It’s Toronto’s second Atlantic Division title in franchise history, with their last one being in 2007.
Offense: C+
The Toronto Raptors weren’t their usual selves on offense tonight, as they shot just 39%, assisting on just 16 field-goals. The offense was fairly stagnant, but they got a little help via the 3-ball. They were 15-33 from beyond the arc tonight, including 4 from Kyle Lowry, who broke Morris Peterson’s single-season record for most 3-pointers made. Both Lowry, and DeMar DeRozan led the way on O for the Raptors tonight, finishing with 26, and 25 points respectively.
Defense: C-
The Knicks may be the Knicks, but they still have some serious offensive-threats, and the Toronto Raptors did a poor job defending tonight. They allowed the Knicks to shoot 48%, and were unable to contain the likes of Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, who combined for 54 points on 58% shooting.
Rebounds: B-
The Toronto Raptors won the battle of the glass vs. NY tonight, but they didn’t get the end result. They out-rebounded the Knicks 42-39, with half of them coming from the big Lithuanian himself, Jonas Valanciunas (career-high 21).
Game-ball: Carmelo Anthony
In a game that the New York Knicks had to win in hopes of keeping their playoff dreams alive, Carmelo Anthony did what he does best; scoring the basketball at will. Leading all scorers with 30 points, ‘Melo added 8 rebounds, and made 13 free throws as well.
