OG, Bridges, Kolek, Hart & KAT Lead Frenetic Pace. NY 119 Toronto 92

January 29, 2026 LouV 2025-26 0
OG Anunoby driving on RJ Barrett. OG scored 26 pts with 6 steals and 2 blocks.

It’s not the best headline — but that’s what happened: OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Tyler Kolek, Josh Hart, and Karl-Anthony Towns out-frenetic-paced the frenetic Toronto Raptors to run them off the court in the 2nd half for a 119-92 win in Toronto on a Wednesday night.

It was a statement win for NY, as they came into the game tied with Toronto in the standings.

Both teams came out looking to fast-break the other off the court — which made for furious full-court action from the opening bell. Toronto got out to a 10-pt lead after 1 quarter, but the Knicks drew close by the half, took command in the 3rd quarter, and blew Toronto off the court in the 4th.

  • OG Anunoby was everywhere — attacking the rim for 26 pts on 11-18 shooting, and picking up 6 steals and 2 blocks.
  • Mikal Bridges was shooting lights-out on the break or on pullups — 30 pts on 12-15 shooting (4-6 from 3).
  • Tyler Kolek, playing 20 minutes at the backup point due to Miles McBride being out — was hitting teammates with pinpoint passes for rhythm 3’s all night; Kolek had 10 assists in 20 minutes with 5 pts and a game-high +23.
  • And there was Josh Hart of course — the king of fast-break basketball, making drive after drive in traffic for 22 pts on 7-11 shooting (4-7 from 3) with 2 steals.
  • And don’t forget Karl-Anthony Towns who ripped down 22 rebounds on a night when Mitchell Robinson rested on the back end of a back-to-back.

KAT didn’t score much — 8 pts on 3-11 shooting, but he didn’t need to and nor did Jalen Brunson, who had 13 pts on 5-13 shooting.

OG dominated his counterpart and former Knick RJ Barrett, who was playing his 3rd game after missing a month due to injury. RJ had 14 pts on 3-13 shooting. Other former Knick Immanuel Quickley — who was just named NBA Player of the Week — had an invisible game with 7 pts on 3-9 shooting in 30 minutes. Brandon Ingram starred for Toronto with 27 pts, and Scottie Barnes (17 pts) played well.

“They came out going fast and pressuring us, but we didn’t let it bother us — just stayed with it; just playing the whole 48 minutes,” said Mikal Bridges afterwards. “It was tough early; felt we were running in mud in the beginning. But once we got them legs going and that competitive spirit comes out… We felt like they were starting to punk us a little bit, kind of pissed us off a little. We just kept going.”

NY wins its 4th in a row and improves to 29-18, tied with Boston for 2nd place in the East, 6 games back of Detroit. Toronto falls to 29-20, 7 games back.

1. FRENETIC Early Pace — Toronto Goes Up by 10

Both teams came out playing at a frenetic pace — fastbreaking with terrific passing — but a lot of missed shots as both rims seemed as hard as those at the worst playgrounds.

It was scintillating, modern-NBA action. Toronto jumped out to an early 12-3 lead and maintained an 8- to 10-pt lead thru the 1st quarter with buckets by Immanuel Quickley, Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, and Gradey Dick.

2. Knicks Pull within 51-47 at the Half

Jamal Shead and RJ Barrett hit back-to-back 3’s early in the 2nd quarter to put Toronto up by 12 pts, at 34-22 with 9 minutes left.

NY was still down by 9, at 51-42 with a minute left in the quarter, but Brunson hit a floater and OG Anunoby hit a 3 in the final minute to pull NY within 4 at the half — 51-47.

As the quarter ended, RJ and OG played a friendly, private game of 1-on-1 for a few seconds.

3. Knicks Dominate 3rd Quarter; Take 82-70 Lead

And then NY took over in the 3rd quarter — with their defense intensifying, causing turnovers and fast-break buckets by OG Anunoby and Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges snipping from everywhere.

Landry Shamet came off the bench to provide firepower. He hit a 3 midway thru the period to pull NY within 1 pt — at 68-67. An OG slam off a steal a minute later put NY up for the first time in the game, at 69-68 with 3:54 left in the quarter.

Kolek Pushes Tempo with Pinpoint Passes

Tyler Kolek was in, pushing the pace and hitting Knicks with pinpoint passes for rhythm jumpers or 3’s.

Toronto re-took the lead briefly, but the Knicks scored the last 13 pts of the quarter — the last 11 by Mikal Bridges — almost all on passes from Kolek:

  • OG scored on a drive,
  • Bridges scored on a drive off a Kolek assist,
  • Bridges scored on another drive off a Kolek assist,
  • Bridges hit a jumper off a Kolek assist,
  • Bridges hit a shot inside off a KAT offensive rebound and beautiful pass,

  • Bridges hit a 3 off a Kolek assist with 20 seconds left in the period to put NY up 82-70.

“Kolek came in and played at his tempo, made the game easier for others with his passing and court vision,” noted NBA Analyst Ross Kreines.

4. Kolek Orchestrates 4th Quarter — NY Runs Toronto Off Court

Bridges hit another 3 off a Kolek assist early in the 3rd quarter, Hart hit a 3 off a Shamet assist, and then Shamet hit a rhythm 3 off a Kolek assist and the Knicks were up 91-75.

Kolek then hit a 3 of his own and NY was up 94-80.

Jalen Brunson came back in and NY maintained and increased its double-digit lead.

Hart’s Machine-Gun Finishing Touch

It was 109-92 NY with 2:14 left when Josh Hart hit a 3 and was fouled — and then spun around and playfully machine-gunned the Raptors’ bench from the floor — and got a towel thrown in his face.

The Knicks emptied their bench — bringing Kolek back in with Ariel Hukporti, Guerschon Yabusele, Hart, and Shamet — and NY proceeded to score the last 10 pts of the game — including the 3-and-1 by Hart, and a bucket by Kolek to end it.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401810530

 

 

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