Jalen Brunson scored 20 of his 35 points in the first quarter Tuesday night and the New York Knicks defeated the host Toronto Raptors 117-101 in their NBA Cup quarterfinal.
The Knicks will play the Orlando Magic in a semifinal game Saturday at Las Vegas.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Knicks, who have won four straight and eight of nine. Josh Hart scored 21 points, Mikal Bridges had 15, OG Anunoby chipped in with 13 points, two blocks and two steals while Jordan Clarkson contributed 12 points.
The Knicks have won 10 consecutive meetings with the Raptors.
Brandon Ingram had 17 of his 31 points in the opening quarter for the Raptors, who have lost four in a row. Jamal Shead added 18 points, Scottie Barnes and Ja’Kobe Walter each scored 13 and Jakob Poeltl had 10 points and nine rebounds.
The Knicks led by as many as 24 points before entering the fourth quarter with a 15-point advantage. The lead reached 20 when Bridges hit a 3-point shot with 10:14 to play. Toronto whittled it 15 on Ingram’s jumper with 6:27 left. Anunoby’s 3-point shot put New York up by 18 with 4:47 remaining.
The Raptors shook off a recent tendency for struggling starts to take a 39-35 lead after a loosely played first quarter that had nine lead changes. New York made seven turnovers and Toronto committed four.
New York stiffened defensively and opened the second quarter with a 12-2 burst. The lead grew to 11 with 5:13 to play in the second quarter when Brunson drained a 3-pointer.
The Knicks’ ability to gather offensive rebounds helped them stretch the margin to 18 with 1:15 to play when Bridges stuffed a reverse layup. New York led 69-52 at halftime.
Hart scored New York’s first nine points of the third quarter to bump the lead to 24. Toronto showed some spark and a steal by Barnes resulted in Walter’s layup that cut the lead to 14 with 4:11 to play. The Knicks led 94-79 after the third quarter.
Guard Immanuel Quickley (illness) did not play for Toronto, while guard Miles McBride (ankle) was out for New York.
