TORONTO _ Carmelo Anthony didn't have to deal with referee Tony Brothers, but the New York Knicks still ended up in a foul mood.
Playing their first real close game of the season, the Knicks' execution failed them on both ends of the floor and fell to the Toronto Raptors, 118-107, Saturday night at Air Canada Centre.
It was more of the same for the Knicks (3-6). They couldn't get stops when they needed them, couldn't score in crunch time and they let the Raptors get to the foul line far too much. Toronto held a 38-16 advantage in free throws attempted and 33-12 edge in foul shots made.
The Knicks were down 107-105 with just under two minutes left, and didn't make another field goal the rest of the way. Anthony finished with 31 points but no field goals in the fourth. He was 0-for-4 in the final quarter.
DeMar DeRozan, the NBA's leading scorer, had a brilliant game. He shot 11-for-23 and scored 33 points to lead Toronto (7-2). Norman Powell added 19 and Kyle Lowry 16.
Anthony was thrown out of Friday's 28-point loss in Boston after being called for two technical fouls by Brothers. Anthony appeared to be playing with a little chip on his shoulder.
He scored 29 points through three quarters, but his only points came on two free throws with 22.4 seconds left when the game was all but over. He had his shot blocked with about 1:20 left.
Kristaps Porzingis played with foul trouble again, and finished with 21 points. Derrick Rose also had 21 and appeared to playing through shoulder pain. He favored it throughout the second half. It wasn't immediately known what the issue was.
The Raptors led 87-85 to open the fourth, which started with the Raptors getting open looks all over the floor. They just didn't knock them down.
They were 3-for-14 before DeRozan hit a three-pointer after being fouled by Porzingis. DeRozan's free throw made it 101-97 Toronto with 5:48 left. Back-to-back baskets by Rose tied it at 101 with 4:21 to go.
Powell gave the Raptors a two-point lead on the next possession. It stayed that way until a Lucas Nogueira alley-oop dunk with 2:56 remaining made it 105-101.
The Knicks got within 107-105 on a Porzingis dunk with 1:59 left. Lowry then drove past Rose and Joakim Noah for a layup to give Toronto a four-point edge.
Nogueira swatted shots by Anthony and Rose on two straight possessions and tapped out a key offensive rebound that led to a DeRozan driving layup and three-point play with under 30 seconds remaining.
The Knicks' defensive issues were glaring in the third. They couldn't stop DeRozan, particularly after Courtney Lee went to the bench with four fouls _ he picked up three in a manner of 70 seconds in the third.
DeRozan scored 13 in the quarter and the Raptors tallied 34. They shot 10-for-17 in the quarter.
The Knicks came out with a greater focus and sense of urgency than many games this season, but sustaining it on the defensive end remains a problem. Jeff Hornacek also said he addressed the players about keeping their composure after they were whistled for six technical fouls Friday in Boston.
"There's going to be nights you get bad calls and you've just got to go on fighting and playing, battle through it," Hornacek said. "Maybe we let it get to us too much (Friday) night
"We brought it up. But not making it a prolonged thing, just mentioning, 'Hey, we've got to keep our heads and not worry about it and get through there.'"
Anthony seemed as if he wanted to make up for being ejected Friday night.
He picked up where he left off offensively in Boston, when he made five of his first six shots and scored 12 points before being thrown out in the second quarter.
Anthony scored the Knicks' last seven points of the second quarter, and buried a long jumper at the halftime buzzer to give them a 56-53 lead. Anthony was 7-for-13 with 20 points at the half.
It wasn't a great defensive half for the Knicks, but it was better than in Boston. For one, they held the Raptors to 24 points in the first quarter.
The Knicks have given up 30-point quarters regularly, especially to start the game and dug big holes. The Knicks led by four after one last night.
Even after their defense faltered in the early stages of the second quarter _ they allowed 21 points over the first 5:09 to fall behind 45-40 _ the Knicks only gave up eight the rest of the half. Anthony scored 10 by himself in that time.
