Karl-Anthony Towns on Monday delivered a double-double of 24 points and 15 rebounds as the New York Knicks warmed up for the NBA Cup quarter-finals with a hard-fought 113-108 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Towns was back in the lineup after missing the Knicks’ loss to Detroit on Saturday with a sore knee — a defeat that ended New York’s four-game winning streak.
New York needed his contribution in a bruising game that featured 19 lead changes.
Photo: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Toronto’s R.J. Barrett — a former Knick — tied it at 108-108 with a finger-roll layup with 42.1 seconds remaining, but Towns, fed by Jalen Brunson, made a driving layup, then, after former Raptor O.G. Anunoby came up with a big block for the Knicks, drilled a three-pointer with 6.3 seconds remaining that sealed the win.
The clash in Toronto was the only game on Monday’s slate as the league geared up for the knockout stage of the NBA Cup this week.
The quarter-finals were to tip off yesterday with the Milwaukee Bucks hosting the Orlando Magic and the Oklahoma City Thunder hosting the Dallas Mavericks.
The Knicks host the Atlanta Hawks today and the Houston Rockets host the Golden State Warriors.
The winners are to play the semi-finals on Saturday in Las Vegas, where the final is to be held on Tuesday next week.
Mikal Bridges added 23 points, while Brunson had 20 points and 11 assists for the Knicks, who have won 10 of their past 13 games.
Anunoby scored 14 points in his first game in Toronto since landing with the Knicks.
Barrett led the Raptors with 30 points. Rookie Ja’Kobe Walter scored a career-high 19 and Scottie Barnes scored 15 for the Raptors before departing in the third quarter with a sprained ankle after colliding with Towns under the basket.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
RSS