Mikal Bridges, Knicks come alive in second half to beat Raptors, 119-92

The Knicks took control in the second half to rout the Toronto Raptors, 119-92, on Wednesday night.

Here are the key takeaways...

-- On the second leg of a back-to-back, traveling from New York to Canada in the process, the Knicks did not start off so hot. They had three turnovers in their first five possessions and were 0-for-2 on the other two possessions, missing two three-pointers, which would be a theme of the night.

-- With nothing happening offensively in the first four minutes and looking for a spark with his team down 14-5, head coach Mike Brown put in Tyler Kolek for Jalen Brunson and Kolek immediately responded with an assist on a three-pointer by OG Anunoby. New York went on a mini 5-0 run after the move, and with the help of its defense, mostly coming from the bench, it was able to get back into the game.

-- Still, it was an ugly opening quarter by the Knicks, who scored just 18 points on a paltry 6-for-20 from the field. They relied way too heavily on the deep ball, settling for tough shots and going 2-for-12 from beyond the arc. It was there that New York was missing Mitchell Robinson (ankle) and his offensive rebounding prowess, getting outrebounded in the quarter, 16-9.

-- The Raptors weren't much better (8-for-19 from the floor), but they were efficient from deep (3-for-5) and the free-throw line (9-for-10) to go into the second quarter with a 28-18 lead.

-- The poor shooting by both teams continued in the second. Toronto missed its first seven shots of the quarter before hitting back-to-back threes, and the Knicks began the frame 4-for-15. After the two made threes, the Raptors missed their next eight shots, but despite going 2-for-17 for eight minutes, their lead barely shrank because of their ability to get to the line and knock down free throws.

-- Meanwhile, New York was dealing with its own terrible shooting and turnovers, too. At halftime, the Knicks had 11 giveaways after a season-high 21 turnovers on Tuesday night. After all that, though, New York was still able to keep it within a reasonable margin and ended the half on a mini 5-0 run to cut the deficit to 51-47.

-- Brunson had just nine points, and the Knicks' bench could only add five points despite six players seeing at least three minutes, but Anunoby (playing against his former team) led all scorers with 14, and Karl-Anthony Towns ended up picking up the slack on the glass with 16 rebounds (six offensive) at the half.

-- Things changed tremendously after the break for New York, with one player in particular stepping up in a massive way. Mikal Bridges (with just six points in the first half) put on a clinic in the third quarter, going 7-for-8 from the field, 3-for-4 from deep and 2-for-2 from the line. 

-- What was once an 11-point deficit with eight minutes left to play in the quarter quickly turned into a 12-point lead by the Knicks at the end of the frame, thanks to the play of Bridges who scored the final 11 points in the quarter as part of a 20-2 New York run that ended the third. Overall, the Knicks outscored the Raptors, 35-19, in the quarter. 

-- Anunoby also had a nice quarter (nine points) as he continued his solid play with Brunson and Towns struggling to find the net all night. 

-- Suddenly red-hot offensively, which was a total reversal of the first half, New York continued its dominance in the final frame by putting up another 37 points. After such a rough start, the Knicks ended the night shooting 50 percent (45-for-90) from the field and finished 14-for-38 from deep. 

-- Bridges (30), Anunoby (26) and Josh Hart (22) did most of the damage for New York while Brunson and Town took a backseat, combining for just 21 points. KAT did finish with 22 rebounds, imposing his size on the shorter Raptors team. 

-- As for Brunson, he was questionable before the game with an illness and although he played 30 minutes, it was clear he wasn't 100 percent healthy. However, Kolek filled in nicely as a facilitator and finished with a career-high 10 assists in 20 minutes.

Game MVP: Mikal Bridges

Bridges came alive in the second half, which allowed the Knicks to take the lead and ultimately get the win (outscoring the hosts 72-41 after the half) following such a poor shooting performance in the first half.

Highlights

OG with the tough finish 💪 pic.twitter.com/lQZIMZW5AY

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) January 29, 2026

KAT with the pass off the offensive board! pic.twitter.com/Wd4eo0GYZp

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) January 29, 2026

OG ANUNOBY! pic.twitter.com/xyVMjxHLBJ

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) January 29, 2026

What's next

The Knicks return home for a Friday night matchup at MSG against the Portland Trail Blazers. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.