Knicks blow through Raptors
It wasnt much of a contest tonight. The Knicks took the lead early and it stayed that way throughout the entire game. Turnovers were the key factor here. The raptors commited and astonishing 35 turnovers. The Knicks had 19 team steals, and that was in part of the back court trio of Steve Francis, Stephon Marbury, and Jamaal Crawford. Steve Francis was tonight's high point man with 31 points, while the Player of the Game was Stephon Marbury with 22 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 steals.
Here are the Key Players of tonights game
Knicks
Steve Francis: 31 pts| 2 rebounds| 2 assists| 4 steals
Stephon Marbury: 22 pts| 2 rebounds| 8 assists| 4 steals
Eddie Curry: 14pts| 18 rebounds| 2 assists| 2 blocks| 1 steal
Jamaal Crawford: 13 pts| 3 assists| 2 rebounds| 2 steals| 1 block
Raptors
Chris Bosh: 20 pts| 6 rebounds
Charlie Villanueva: 9 pts| 14 rebounds
Morris Peterson: 20 pts| 3 rebounds| 3 assists
Jose Calderon: 12 pts| 5 rebounds| 5 assists
The Raptors were without Mike James tonight, and that killed them in the back court. The Raptors commited 35 turnovers, and most of those were forced passes or stolen balls by the Knicks back court.
"We've become so much better defensively," Larry Brown commented, "I believe this franchise is going to go great places. We've been able to force a lot of pressure, and make defensive plays, that we havent been able to make in the past. Everyone has really stepped up."
Game Shots
Jamaal Crawford shooting a reverse layup in the first half
Stephon Marbury forcing one of 35 Toronto turnovers
Jose Calderon blowing past the Knicks defense
Steve Francis "Serving up a facial!" -Marv Albert
