TORONTO _ Jeff Hornacek appeared to be lowering expectations before Friday night's game against the Raptors. It may have been the coach's best move of the night.
Yes, the Knicks have gotten the Garden pumping, Kristaps Porzingis has turned into a mega-star and the team is above .500.
But Hornacek threw some cold water on Knicks fans' day-dreaming when he was asked about the team's fast start.
"You go into every season at the beginning with high hopes," he said. "(Playoffs) wasn't what we were focusing on. We were focusing on trying to lay a foundation, lay a base that we can grow over the next two, three years to get to be a good team."
He didn't say "like the Raptors" _ but he could have. Toronto showed how far the Knicks still have to go with a 107-84 shellacking at the Air Canada Centre.
Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan each had 22 points for the Raptors (10-5), who have won eight in row against the Knicks and visit Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
They're both in the NBA, but the Knicks were not in the same league as the Raptors from start to finish. The Knicks led once in the game, when Jarrett Jack hit a pull-up jumper to make it 4-2.
The Knicks (8-7) fell to 1-4 on the road as Porzingis didn't score his first points until a 3-pointer with 5:10 left in the second quarter. Porzingis, who was averaging 28.9 points per game, finished with 13 and shot 3 for 13. He still tied Tim Hardaway Jr. for the team scoring lead.
