The third time really did the trick. The New York Knicks punched their ticket to the NBA Cup semifinals with a 117-101 win over the Toronto Raptors, pulling away in the second half after a deep three from Josh Hart stretched the lead to 20.
It marks the first time the franchise has reached the Las Vegas stage of the tournament. Persistence has not been the issue. The Knicks are the only team to make the quarterfinals in all three editions of the event, which debuted in the 2023-24 season. The Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural trophy and the Milwaukee Bucks claimed the second.
A Knicks team built to win right now
The Knicks believe the third run could be the one that ends with a championship, and they have the roster to back it up. New York has been aggressive on the trade and free agent markets and has built a team with genuine top-end potential. Still, the group stalled last season when the Indiana Pacers stopped their playoff push short of the NBA Finals.
This year looks different. The Eastern Conference has no clear dominant team and the Knicks are positioning themselves to make a real run. They sit in second place at 17-7 after winning four straight, and they have taken eight of their last nine.
Brunson takes over in Toronto
Much of New York’s leap forward starts with one left hand, the one belonging to Jalen Brunson. The guard is one of the league’s most potent scorers and he put all of Canada on notice with a 35-point eruption that included six three pointers on nine attempts. He opened the game with a blistering 20-point first quarter that featured four makes from deep. Toronto had no answer.
Brunson found himself in a scoring duel with Brandon Ingram. The Raptors forward put up 17 points in that same first quarter and finished with 31, briefly giving Toronto hope at 39-35. That hope faded quickly. A 34-13 Knicks run before halftime created a 69-52 gap that widened to 72-52 early in the third.
The Raptors tried to fight back but never closed the gap enough to threaten. They have now lost four straight and six of their last seven, a slide that has dropped them deeper in the standings.
Knicks face Magic in NBA Cup semifinal in Vegas
The Knicks, meanwhile, head to Las Vegas smiling. They will take on the Orlando Magic in Saturday’s semifinal at 5:30 p.m. ET.
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Toronto Raptors
Stats
4
Scottie Barnes
3
Brandon Ingram
19
Jakob Poeltl
30
Ochai Agbaji
23
Jamal Shead
1
Gradey Dick
24
Chucky Hepburn
0
A.J. Lawson
54
Sandro Mamukelashvili
55
Alijah Martin
2
Jonathan Mogbo
12
Collin Murray-Boyles
17
Garrett Temple
14
Ja’Kobe Walter
Stats
Min
Pts
TR
OR
DR
Ast
Los
Rec
Blk
S1
S2
S3
RF
CF
Val
4
Scottie Barnes
37
13
5
0
5
4
2
2
0
0/0
5/12
1/6
0
3
0
3
Brandon Ingram
38
31
6
0
6
6
3
2
0
6/8
8/13
3/5
0
1
0
19
Jakob Poeltl
24
10
9
4
5
3
2
2
0
0/0
5/7
0/0
0
3
0
30
Ochai Agbaji
25
3
4
1
3
1
0
1
1
1/1
1/3
0/1
0
4
0
23
Jamal Shead
33
18
3
1
2
8
1
1
0
2/4
2/4
4/11
0
3
0
1
Gradey Dick
7
0
1
0
1
0
2
0
0
0/0
0/2
0/1
0
1
0
24
Chucky Hepburn
8
0
0
0
0
2
1
0
0
0/0
0/0
0/3
0
1
0
0
A.J. Lawson
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2/2
0/1
0/1
0
0
0
54
Sandro Mamukelashvili
15
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
0
0/0
1/1
0/3
0
1
0
55
Alijah Martin
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0/0
0/0
0/0
0
0
0
2
Jonathan Mogbo
2
3
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1/1
1/1
0/0
0
0
0
12
Collin Murray-Boyles
21
6
5
4
1
3
1
0
1
0/2
3/6
0/0
0
3
0
17
Garrett Temple
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0/0
0/0
0/1
0
0
0
14
Ja’Kobe Walter
18
13
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0/0
2/2
3/6
0
2
0
New York Knicks
Stats
8
OG Anunoby
3
Josh Hart
32
Karl-Anthony Towns
25
Mikal Bridges
11
Jalen Brunson
0
Jordan Clarkson
51
Mohamed Diawara
20
Tosan Evbuomwan
55
Ariel Hukporti
13
Tyler Kolek
9
Kevin McCullar Jr.
23
Mitchell Robinson
28
Guerschon Yabusele
50
Trey Jemison III
Stats
Min
Pts
TR
OR
DR
Ast
Los
Rec
Blk
S1
S2
S3
RF
CF
Val
8
OG Anunoby
35
13
6
1
5
1
3
2
2
4/4
3/5
1/6
0
3
0
3
Josh Hart
36
21
6
1
5
4
3
2
0
1/1
4/4
4/7
0
0
0
32
Karl-Anthony Towns
30
14
16
5
11
1
1
1
2
5/6
3/9
1/2
0
4
0
25
Mikal Bridges
36
15
5
1
4
4
0
2
1
0/0
3/6
3/8
0
4
0
11
Jalen Brunson
39
35
3
0
3
4
3
0
1
3/5
7/10
6/9
0
1
0
0
Jordan Clarkson
26
12
3
2
1
0
1
0
0
2/4
5/9
0/1
0
1
0
51
Mohamed Diawara
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0/0
0/1
0/0
0
0
0
20
Tosan Evbuomwan
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0/0
0/0
0/0
0
1
0
55
Ariel Hukporti
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0/0
0/0
0/0
0
0
0
13
Tyler Kolek
7
2
1
0
1
1
0
1
0
0/0
1/1
0/0
0
0
0
9
Kevin McCullar Jr.
1
3
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0/0
0/0
1/1
0
0
0
23
Mitchell Robinson
15
2
5
4
1
4
2
1
1
2/8
0/0
0/0
0
5
0
28
Guerschon Yabusele
6
0
2
0
2
0
0
0
0
0/0
0/0
0/1
0
0
0
50
Trey Jemison III
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0/0
0/0
0/0
0
0
0