Updated Mar 23, 2012 - 6:44 pm
DeRozan scores 30 as Raptors cruise past Knicks
Originally published: Mar 23, 2012 - 6:44 pm
TORONTO (AP) - DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points before leaving with an injury, Andrea Bargnani had 21 and the Toronto Raptors routed the Knicks 96-79 Friday night, snapping New York's five-game winning streak.
The Raptors, who had lost seven of 10 coming in, never trailed and led by as many as 22.
Gary Forbes scored 19 points, one shy of his career-high, and Jose Calderon had 10 assists as Toronto snapped a three-game skid and handed New York its first defeat under coach Mike Woodson.
Still, the win may have come at a high price for Toronto as DeRozan fell hard after a collision with Calderon with 2:59 left, got up and hobbled straight to the locker room.
Amare Stoudemire scored 17 points, Steve Novak had 15 and Carmelo Anthony 12 for the Knicks, who came in having won six of seven against the Raptors, including three straight in Toronto.
Jeremy Lin made a game-winning 3-pointer on New York's last visit to Toronto, a 90-87 victory on Feb. 14, but was held in check this time, finishing with six points. Hundreds of fans cheered Lin with signs and Taiwanese flags, but many in the crowd booed whenever he touched the ball.
Trailing by 17 points to start the fourth, the Knicks opened with a 7-0 run, including a three-point play by J.R. Smith and a 3 from Novak. Forbes stopped the run with a pair of baskets before Novak added another 3.
The Knicks would score just one basket in the next four minutes as Toronto surged ahead. Bargnani and DeRozan had consecutive dunks, forcing a New York timeout. After the stoppage, DeRozan dunked off Forbes' alley-oop off the glass before Forbes forced a steal and drove in for a layup, making it 86-65 with 4:54 left.
Tempers nearly flared in the first after Bargnani leveled Lin with a screen and Anthony responded by hauling down Calderon on a drive to the basket. Calderon got up yelling, and Raptors center Aaron Gray gave Anthony a hard shove. Both Gray and Anthony got technicals, while Bargnani was whistled for an offensive foul.
Bargnani and DeRozan each scored nine in the first and Anthony shot just 2 for 7 as Toronto led 25-16 after one.
Novak hit a 3 at the halftime buzzer but the Raptors, who did not trail in the first two quarters, took a 39-36 lead into the locker room.
DeRozan scored 14 points in the third, two on an impressive alley-oop from James Johnson and two more on a rebound and jumper with less than two seconds left, as the Raptors took a 70-53 lead into the fourth.
NOTES: Stoudemire wore a gray hoodie during early warmups as a sign of support for the family of Florida shooting victim Trayvon Martin. ... Knicks F Jared Jeffries, who left Wednesday's win at Philadelphia with a sore left knee, is expected to undergo an MRI Saturday morning, and will likely miss that evening's game against Detroit. ... Raptors G Jerryd Bayless (left hip) did not play and is likely to miss Saturday's game at Chicago, coach Dwane Casey said. ... Toronto waived F Rasual Butler earlier Friday. Butler had not played in eight games. ... For the first time in franchise history, a Raptors game was broadcast in Mandarin. Former Chinese Olympic basketball player Weiping Zhang handled play-by-play duties for the national broadcast on OMNI, a Canadian multicultural station.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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