-REVENGE. That's what was on the minds of the Toronto Raptors tonight as they crushed the visiting New York Knicks, 96 to 79. It was a close affair for a while, with Toronto holding a 39 to 36 halftime lead, but a 31 point third quarter blew this one open for TO, and they never looked back.
-Who played well for the Raps? Better question, who didn't? Jose Calderon was 0 of 10 from the floor, finishing with only two points, but every other Raptor who played hit at least one shot from the field, even Solomon Alabi, who threw one down on Steve Novak's head with about a minute left in garbage time.
-That should tell you about all you need to know in this one.
-However we should point out a few individual highlights. DeMar DeRozan was brilliant, playing maybe his best game of the season dropping in 30 points on 11 of 17 shooting, along with 8 of 9 from the free-throw line. Andrea Bargnani was 9 of 20 but with 21 and 7, looked a lot better tonight than he has in a while too.
-And how about some love for the player Ryan McNeill focussed on in our pre-game video, Gary Forbes? Forbes had 19 points and 6 rebounds in only 19 minutes, and was in my eyes the catalyst that kept the Knicks at bay in the fourth, when New York tried one last run.
-For New York, nothing was working. The team shot 38 per cent from the field, was out-worked in almost every area, and looked nothing like the club that waxed the floor with these same Dinos, just 3 nights ago. And forget Linsanity Part II. Jeremy was only 3 of 9 from the field, and Baron Davis played nearly as many minutes.
-The win likely isn't going to make fans of the #TANK very happy but to them I say, have no fear! The Raptors were due for one and now have to turn around, fly to Chicago to play the Bulls tomorrow night, then face a nice string of games starting Monday against the Orlando Magic...