{"id":66493,"date":"2025-12-10T06:11:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T06:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/66493\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T06:11:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T06:11:09","slug":"knicks-storm-past-raptors-to-advance-into-nba-cup-semifinals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/66493\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks storm past Raptors to advance into NBA Cup semifinals"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2014 The streaking Knicks are taking their luck to Sin City.<\/p>\n

Behind an efficient masterclass from Jalen Brunson, the Knicks pummeled the Raptors in Tuesday night\u2019s NBA Cup quarterfinal, 117-101, advancing to Saturday\u2019s semifinal in Las Vegas against the Orlando Magic.<\/p>\n

Brunson, who thrives in the single-game elimination environment (check out his two NCAA titles with \u2019Nova), scored 35 points on 13-of-19 shooting, dissecting Toronto\u2019s porous defense while getting off smooth and swishing jumpers.<\/p>\n

Jalen Brunson, who scored a game-high 35 points, shoots a jumper during the Knicks\u2019 117-101 road win over the Raptors in the NBA Cup quarterfinals on Dec. 9, 2025. Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

He was 6-of-9 from deep, and the Knicks (17-7), winners of four straight and eight of their last nine, cruised to the final buzzer, never allowing the lead to reach single-digits in the second half.<\/p>\n

Brunson was joined in offensive efficiency by his Villanova buddy, Josh Hart, who dropped in 21 points on 8-of-11 from the field.<\/p>\n

Karl-Anthony Towns, returning from a one-game absence because of calf tightness, added 14 points with 16 boards.<\/p>\n

After falling in the NBA Cup\u2019s quarterfinals the last two years \u2014 including last season\u2019s infamous Trae Young dice roll<\/a> on the MSG midcourt logo \u2014 the Knicks are in the Vegas Final 4.<\/p>\n

But it didn\u2019t start so pretty Tuesday for NYK.<\/p>\n

Karl-Anthony Towns slams home a dunk during the Knicks\u2019 win over the Raptors in the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The first quarter was a slopfest for the Knicks, who committed seven turnovers that led to 12 Raptors points. <\/p>\n

Toronto led after that opening quarter, 39-35, despite Brunson going off for 20 points in the first nine minutes.<\/p>\n

The Knicks picked up the defensive intensity in the second quarter, dominating those 12 minutes to take a 17-point lead into the break.<\/p>\n

The Raptors (15-11) are fragile, understaffed, and they folded.<\/p>\n

They were at home but the clear underdogs, having lost five of their previous six games \u2014 including a lopsided defeat at MSG last week.<\/p>\n

Toronto was also missing former Knicks RJ Barrett, who has a knee injury, and Immanuel Quickley, who was a late scratch with an illness.<\/p>\n

Josh Hart looks to make a pass during the Knicks\u2019 NBA Cup quarterfinal win over the Raptors. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Knicks, who didn\u2019t have Miles McBride because of what a source described as a high ankle sprain, have been vocal about their desire to win the NBA Cup despite its scheduling conundrums.<\/p>\n

Since the Knicks won, they\u2019ll fly across the country to Vegas for a road trip that could last a week and end in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

If they had lost, they would\u2019ve gone home for about a week with just one home game.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat\u2019s happening on and off the Garden court\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

So now they\u2019ll hit the road instead of enjoying a mini winter break.<\/p>\n

And as a reward for their schlepping, the Knicks earned more prize money with semifinalists collecting over $100K per player compared to the over $50K for quarterfinalists (a championship would net them over $500K apiece). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 The streaking Knicks are taking their luck to Sin City. Behind an efficient masterclass from Jalen…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66494,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4777,4778,1555,21,9,11,1104,10,319,1265],"class_list":{"0":"post-66493","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-jalen-brunson","9":"tag-josh-hart","10":"tag-karl-anthony-towns","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-headlines","14":"tag-new-york-knicks","15":"tag-new-york-news","16":"tag-sports","17":"tag-toronto-raptors"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}