- The Toronto Raptors grinded out a win in the Mecca of Basketball, defeating the Amar'e Stoudemire-less New York Knicks 90-85. The Raptors held the Knicks to 35.9 percent shooting overall and just 28.6 percent from beyond the arc.
- The Raptors were on fire in the first half, shooting 58.3 percent to take a 17-point lead into the lockerroom. Andrea Bargnani was perfect from the field - but seemed to do a bit of a disappearing act after a 4-for-4 effort in the first quarter. And DeMar DeRozan showed flashes of aggressiveness while matching his season average of 16 in the first half.
- Contrast that with the Knicks who shot just 28.2 percent after two quarters. Take away the five 3-pointers and it could've been a lot uglier for the Knicks.
- Although Toney Douglas torched the nets in the third quarter to shave eight points off the lead, the Raptors finished strong.
- Carmelo Anthony dropped 13 points in the fourth quarter, as the Knicks closed to within one on two occasions. But the Raptors really made Melo work for his points this evening. He shot just 13-for-31 from the field to get his 35 points. Outside of the streaky Douglas, Melo carried the team offensively.
- Bargnani played the closer with under a minute to go, nailing a jumper and then getting fouled on consecutive possessions. He hit two free throws with 17.7 seconds left to put the Raptors up three, 88-85. Bargnani has now scored 20 or more in four consecutive games.
- The corpse of Rasual Butler also woke up to post a double-double (13 points and 10 rebounds). He nailed three 3-pointers while giving James Johnson and Gary Forbes splinters.
- Overall, it was nice to see the young, rebuilding Raptors bend but not break on one of the biggest stages in pro basketball.