Knicks Vault Into 2nd Place in East. NY 116 Toronto 94

December 1, 2025 LouV 2025-26 0
KAT had 22 pts and 8 rebounds. Photo courtesy NY Knicks.

The Knicks vaulted over Toronto and into 2nd place in the Eastern Conference with a 116-94 thrashing of the Raptors at Madison Square Garden on a Sunday night (game-time start 6pm).

It was a game of runs — NY running out to a 21-pt lead in the 1st quarter, as they seemingly hit every shot they took, especially 3’s. The 2nd quarter was a different story as Toronto made a run to get back within 5 points; NY led by 7 at the half.

Toronto got within 3 pts midway thru the 3rd, when NY had another run to push back to a 16-pt lead. NY then dominated the 4th quarter, upping the lead up to 23 pts midway thru the period. Toronto waived the white flag with 2 minutes left.

Josh Hart had another tremendous game with 20 pts on 8-12 shooting (4-7 from 3), with 12 rebounds and 7 assists. Miles McBride was hitting every 3 he took early; he finished with 14 pts on 5-11 shooting (4-8 from 3). Karl-Anthony Towns led NY with 22 points in a balanced Knick attack. Jalen Brunson had 18 pts; Mikal Bridges 14 pts.

Mitchell Robinson was a man against boys inside — 15 rebounds (7 offensive) in 17 minutes.

“Our team does a fantastic job on the offensive glass,” said coach Mike Brown afterwards. “For us to have 25 offensive rebounds — Mitch had 7; Josh had 5; and then all of our guards —  Mikal with 2; Deuce with 2; Jalen with 2. That’s beautiful to see. 25 offensive rebounds for the 22 second-chance points; that’s who we are. And we have to continue attacking the glass relentlessly so we can get 2nd opportunities because it turns into points — a lot of points — for us.”

NY improves to 13-6, jumping ahead of 14-7 Toronto by percentage points — both 2.5 games behind 16-4 Detroit.

1. Knicks Jump Out to 21-Pt Lead in 1st Quarter

The Knicks jumped out to a 21-pt lead in the 1st quarter as Miles McBride especially was RED HOT from 3 — hitting his first 4 attempts.

Mikal Bridges started the NY scoring with a jumper, then McBride hit 3 STRAIGHT 3’s, followed by a Bridges 3, followed by ANOTHER McBride 3 and NY had a 17-10 lead.

Karl-Anthony Towns then started dominating inside as Toronto had nobody to match up against him — they were using 6’8 Scottie Barnes to square up against him.

Then Brunson hit a 3, KAT scored buckets inside, Josh Hart drove for a score, Jordan Clarkson came off the bench and hit back-to-back 3’s — and the Knicks were romping, up 38-17 with a minute left in the 1st quarter.

Guerschon Yabusele hit a 3 — and NY took a 41-22 lead into the 2nd quarter.

2. Toronto Run Pulls them Within 5 in 2nd Quarter

NY was up 48-24 in the 2nd when Toronto made a run to get back in the game. Scottie Barnes hit 3 straight 3’s, Immanuel Quickley hit a 3, and Ochai Agbaji hit a deuce for 15 straight Raptor points and a 48-38 game.

Toronto sliced the lead to 5 points on a Sandro Mamukelashvili (say that fast 3 times) drive with 4 minutes left in the half.

Mikal Bridges pushed back with a 3, giving NY a 54-46 lead.

But Brandon Ingram got a bucket inside despite Mikal Bridges’ best effort to defend him, and Scottie Barnes scored on a slam with a second left to pull Toronto with 7 at the half.

3. Toronto Gets Within 3 But NY Pushes Lead Back to 16

Immanuel Quickley got hot at the start of the 3rd — hitting a 3, a drive, and another 3 to pull the Raptors within 70-65.

Karl-Anthony Towns kept the Knicks in the lead with attacks to the basket.

Then with 5:55 left in the quarter and NY up 74-67, Mitchell Robinson re-entered the game for KAT, and absolutely DOMINATED the boards and the paint on defense. The Knicks amped up their physical play and started to push the lead.

Josh Hart hit back-to-back 3’s, the 2nd one after he stole the ball from Sandro Mamukelashvili — and NY was up 80-68.

Hart followed with a jumper for 8 straight points and an 82-68 lead.

“Josh Hart plays with a purpose on both ends,” noted NBA Analyst Ross Krienes. “Plays to win and fills a stat sheet not by chasing stats but rather chasing all 50/50 balls which Josh makes 20/80 balls, outworks u on the glass by wanting it more, finds the open man, creates his own opportunities while playing his role.”

Mikal Bridges followed with a steal and ahead-of-the-field jam and NY was on its way with an 84-68 lead.

4. Knicks Dominate the 4th Quarter

NY entered the 4th up 93-77 and kept pushing it, with Tyler Kolek again playing a fine brand of basketball — orchestrating, pushing the tempo, and hitting teammates with nifty passes.

Mitchell Robinson dominated the interior, grabbing seemingly every rebound on both ends, KAT continued to dominate on offense — scoring inside and out — and the Knicks walked away with the easy victory and into 2nd place in the East.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401810158

 

 

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