Jalen Brunson scored 14 of his game-high 29 points in the third quarter as the New York Knicks clinched the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 112-95 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors on Friday.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points and 10 rebounds while Mikal Bridges logged 13 points for New York (53-28), which has won seven straight home games and five games in a row overall. The Knicks have a 30-9 home mark this season.
Sandro Mamukelashvili produced 17 points and eight rebounds to lead Toronto (45-36), which fell into a tie with the Orlando Magic (45-36) for the sixth and final automatic playoff spot in the East. The Raptors hold the tiebreaker edge.
Brandon Ingram had 16 points and six assists for the Raptors. Ja’Kobe Walter went 4 of 7 from beyond the arc en route to 15 points, while Scottie Barnes amassed 15 points and five assists.
The Knicks drove out to a 14-3 lead, and except for a brief hiccup at the end of the first quarter, never looked back. The Raptors briefly took a 21-20 edge late in the first frame, but Jordan Clarkson, who had 10 points and four assists, gave New York a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the game.
Clarkson also had two baskets as part of a 10-0 Knicks run to start the second. The Raptors were held to 36 points in the first half.
Brunson effectively put the game away with a bevy of jump shots and layups, with a 3-pointer and a technical free throw mixed in for good measure, as part of his third-quarter surge. It was his third straight game scoring 25 or more.
The reserves took over for much of the fourth, allowing New York’s Jose Alvrado to finish with 12 points and five rebounds. Landry Shamet and Ariel Hukporti added eight points each off the Knicks’ bench.
New York swept the five-game season series with Toronto, winning all of the contests by double digits.
The Knicks’ defense created 18 turnovers, which led to 27 points. New York also held a 58-40 advantage in points in the paint.
The Raptors played without former Knicks RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, as well as Collin Murray-Boyles. Those three combined for 50 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists in a 128-114 victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday.
