Knicks drop to 0-4 in preseason play as bench struggles in 98-148 loss to Raptors

On the second night of a preseason back-to-back, the Knicks lost their fourth-straight game, falling 98-148 to the Toronto Raptors.

Here are the takeaways…

— Head coach Mike Brown relied solely on his bench in Tuesday’s contest, giving the star quintet of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Karl Anthony-Towns a rest after Monday night’s 122-104 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Miles McBride, Bruce Brown, Jose Alvarado, Mohamed Diawara, and James Wiseman took their places. 

Each member of the Knicks — with the exception of Tony Bradley, who left the court early in the fourth seemingly nursing a hamstring — played at least 10 minutes. 

Toronto used its starters, re-debuting Raptors legend Kawhi Leonard and giving former Knicks RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley significant minutes against their former team.

— In keeping with the theme of this year’s preseason campaign, the Knicks crew continued to struggle on the offensive, shooting 40 percent from the field, 17 percent from three-point range (their worst of the preseason), and 70 percent from the free throw line. 

— Wiseman led the way for New York, making a strong case for his value as a backup center. The 25-year-old scored 18 points, shot a perfect 100 percent from the free throw line and 87.5 percent from field goal range, and added 10 rebounds and three turnovers in 23 minutes of play.

Also battling for the final center spot on the roster, Drew Eubanks netted eight points (three-for-five from the field, two-for-four in free throws), andBradleytallied four (two-for-four from the field, zero-for-one in free throws). 

— Diawara walked away with 13 points in 28 minutes played. The 21-year-old went 50 percent in field goals (five-for-10) and 43 percent from beyond the arc (three-for-seven).

— Tyler Nickel led the Knicks in steals with two, contributing 11 points to the effort. His 80 percent from the free throw line tied with McBride (8 points) for second-best on the team Tuesday night.

— In his first game in Raptors threads since leading the team to their first-ever NBA Title in June 2019,Leonarddrove the Toronto effort, netting a team-leading 21 points and two steals. He also collected five rebounds (tied with Jakob Poeltl for third-most on the team) and went five-for-seven from the free throw line.

— BarrettandQuickley— both of whom New York sent to Toronto in exchange for Anunoby in December 2023 — each played over 21 minutes. Barrett tallied 17 (six-of-12 from the field, four-for-five in free throws), and Quickely scored 8 with a perfect four-for-four from the free throw line.

Game MVP: Kawhi Leonard

Despite only playing the first half, the 35-year-old small forward all players in points (21).

What’s next

New York will conclude its preseason with another game against the Raptors, this time on home court at MSG, Thursday at 7:30 p.m.