Toronto Raptors forward James Johnson (3) reaches for the net during the first quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.Anthony Gruppuso
Kyle Lowry had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his first triple-double of the season, DeMar DeRozan also scored 22 while becoming the winningest player in Raptors history, and Toronto beat the New York Knicks 122-95 on Monday night.
Jonas Valanciunas added 20 points for the Raptors, who won so easily that Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis changed his mind in the final minutes of the blowout and inserted Jimmer Fredette.
Just signed to a 10-day contract, the former college player of the year made a three-pointer on his lone shot attempt – about the only thing Knicks fans had to cheer during the team's 12th loss in 14 games.
DeRozan passed Chris Bosh and Morris Peterson with his 233rd win in six-plus years wearing a Raptors uniform. DeRozan and fellow all-star Lowry outclassed the Knicks' backcourt of Jose Calderon and Arron Afflalo, which combined for 3-of-13 shooting.
Carmelo Anthony had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks on the fifth anniversary of his trade to New York. Robin Lopez added 21 points and 13 boards.
Toronto outscored New York 60-40 across the middle two quarters and put seven players in double figures.
New York trailed by just one before the Raptors closed the first half with a 15-2 run to take a 57-43 lead. The Knicks cut that lead to seven early in the third before Toronto broke it open again, building a 20-point bulge later in the period.
The only intrigue from there was whether Fredette would play. Rambis had said he had no plans to use the former BYU guard, signed Monday after spending most of the season with the Knicks' NBA Development League affiliate. But Fredette came in to a loud cheer with 1 minute 49 seconds to go and nailed his three-pointer 14 seconds later to a bigger roar from the fans who hadn't already left.