ESNY’s 5 gif reaction to the New York Knicks vs. Toronto Raptors

How did the New York Knicks fare against the Toronto Raptors in Orlando? Let’s revisit the game through the magic of gifs!

Josh Benjamin

The New York Knicks came into Friday night’s tilt against the Toronto Raptors with high hopes. They were riding a two-game winning streak, including a blowout win over the dominant Milwaukee Bucks last weekend.

Plus, Pascal Siakam was out for Toronto for disciplinary reasons. What could possibly go wrong as the Knicks chased their third straight win?

Oh, you poor, sweet, innocent children. Let me tell you just how.

1st quarter: The Knicks we know and love

Knowing the New York Knicks and the Toronto Raptors, it’s pretty obvious which one is the better team. Still, New York kept the game close and only trailed 22-18 after the first quarter. Suppose Siakam’s absence was a difference-maker, right?

Survey says:

Nope. Sorry, folks. Despite the close score after one quarter, this was vintage Knicks basketball. The team shot an abysmal 29.2% in the first and RJ Barrett’s struggles continued as he shot 1 of 6. New York also committed six turnovers.

Still, the Raptors weren’t much better at 35% shooting in the first quarter. Could the Knicks stumble into another close game and maybe win this? All while making some key mistakes?

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Halftime report: What is happening?

Okay. Seriously, what is going on? What kind of back end of 2020 magic is it that the New York Knicks played an absolutely awful first half of basketball and the game was tied 42-42 at halftime?

No, I’m not kidding. The Knicks were bad even by Knicks standards. New York is shooting 34% from the field and 10% from long range. 10%! They have missed 13 threes in a row and Reggie Bullock has yet to make a shot.

It’s great that Julius Randle played well. He led with 13 points and seven rebounds in the first half. Yet, who was behind him in the stat sheet? Kevin Knox with 11 points off the bench. Don’t let the tie game fool you. The Knicks played very bad hoops.

And yet, the score was tied. Was this for real?

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3rd quarter: Cue the collapse

At one point in the third quarter, the New York Knicks were up by seven points. By the time it ended, they trailed Toronto 71-64 and extended their missed threes streak to an eye roll-inducing 20.

It took long enough, but the bad play finally caught up with the Knicks. An unlucky fall by Mitchell Robinson somehow turned into his fourth personal foul about midway through the quarter. Nerlens Noel entered and soon had four fouls himself. How were the Knicks supposed to play interior defense with both centers in foul trouble?

Between the poor shooting, clumsy play, and just general sloppiness, it didn’t matter how close the game was. All New York Knicks fans were feeling the same way.

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4th quarter: Everything is terrible

The good news is early in the fourth quarter, Austin Rivers’ three-pointer finally broke the Knicks’ streak of 20 missed.

The bad news is that was basically it for the New York Knicks in the fourth. The Raptors went on an 11-0 run and New York was just overrun in a 100-83 loss.

Oh, and did I mention Julius Randle got hurt? AND Jared Harper played? Happy New Year indeed.

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Player of the Game: Missing on account of New Year’s

Seriously, the New York Knicks were that kind of bad tonight. Awarding anyone a Player of the Game honor would be someone failing upwards into positive recognition. The team made 3 of 36 three-point attempts.

Happy New Year, Knicks fans. Let’s forget this game ever happened.

via GIPHY