Knicks 89 - 106 Raptors
Final
  for this game

Raptors seek stronger effort vs. Knicks

Mar 22, 2015 - 1:22 PM

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(SportsNetwork.com) - The Toronto Raptors suffered a tough loss their last time out and look to regroup Sunday with the New York Knicks in town.

The Raptors had won two in a row and three of four games until Friday's 108-92 setback in Chicago. DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points and Patrick Patterson added 17 off the bench for Toronto, which made only 38 percent from the floor and was outrebounded by a 47-36 margin.

Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy hit a 3-pointer prior to the halftime buzzer and knocked down another trey off a feed from Joakim Noah to lengthen the Bulls' lead to 77-56 with five minutes left in the third quarter.

Toronto trimmed its deficit to 88-77 with 10 minutes remaining, but couldn't get any closer. The Raptors were outscored in the paint, 54-26.

"They just kicked our butt in every which way," Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said. "They punched us and we never recovered."

Casey's squad is third in the Eastern Conference standings and 23-12 at Air Canada Centre this season. After hosting the Knicks, Toronto will pay a visit to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.

Raptors All-Star guard Kyle Lowry (back) did not play against the Bulls and is listed as questionable Sunday. Lowry is averaging 18.1 points and 6.9 assists.

The Knicks have the worst record in the NBA at 14-55 and dropped a 97-81 decision to the just-as-bad Philadelphia 76ers Friday at Wells Fargo Center.

Alexey Shved scored 25 points and is averaging 19.0 ppg in his last seven games, while Andrea Bargnani added 17 for New York, which made 36.2 percent of its shots and gave up 29 points on 20 turnovers. The 76ers also won the rebounding war by a 49-37 margin.

"They were more aggressive than we were," former Sixer Shved said. "They just played better."

Shved made a career-high seven 3-pointers for New York, which has dropped two in a row and nine of its last 11 games. The Knicks also fell to 5-31 on the road and are winless in the past three games outside Madison Square Garden.

After their game north of the border, the Knicks will return to MSG for three straight games versus Memphis, LA Clippers and Boston.

New York is 1-2 against Toronto this season and 15-22 all-time in Canada.






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