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October 16, 2026 at 10:27 PM UTC

Postgame Report

Knicks Hold Off Raptors 122-120 in Preseason Finale, Two Days After a 50-Point Loss

New York answered a 50-point defeat in Toronto with a two-point win at Madison Square Garden, sending the defending champions into opening night on a better note.

3 Winners, 1 Loser in Raptors 50-Point Win vs. Knicks — Sports Illustrated
3 Winners, 1 Loser in Raptors 50-Point Win vs. Knicks — Sports Illustrated

The Knicks needed a better memory than the one they took home from Toronto, and they got it. New York beat the Raptors 122-120 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, two days after Toronto won the first meeting by 50 points. The mood around that blowout was loud enough that Ben Stiller, a fixture in the building, was reported to be fired up beforehand. Whatever was left of that night, the Knicks did not carry it into this one.

The rematch was the fifth and last preseason game for both clubs, which made it a final tune-up with very little room to tune. Two days is not much time to fix anything, and the Knicks did not have the luxury of treating it as a throwaway. They are the defending NBA champions, and the Raptors' lopsided win in the first game carried more weight because of it. A banner goes up in their season opener, and nobody wanted that ceremony to follow a second ugly night against the same opponent.

The first game also gave the Raptors a little theater. RJ Barrett, the former Knicks first-round pick, scored 17 points against his old team, which lent the blowout a revenge angle it did not need. The Knicks now turn to Philadelphia, their opening-night opponent, who rebuilt in the offseason. The 76ers added Jaylen Brown and LeBron James and put them alongside Joel Embiid, VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey. That is a far more serious test than anything the preseason offered.

Toronto leaves New York with a split and a few things to chew on. Kawhi Leonard made his Toronto debut, again, in the first game, seven years after he left the franchise following the 2019 NBA Finals win. That was the Raptors' best night of the exhibition schedule. This one ended 122-120 the other way, and for the Knicks that is the version they would rather carry into October 21.

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