The Knicks defense was the catalyst yet again Tuesday night, holding another opponent to under 100 points with a 111-95 win over the Toronto Raptors.

It's the 11th time New York has held an opponent under 100 points in their last 19 contests (15-4 record during that span).

Here are the takeaways...

-- OG Anunoby scored seven of New York's first nine points against his former team, but Brandon Ingram and the Raptors came out firing. The Toronto All-Star hit back-to-back mid-range shots to give him 10 early points. Ingram kept it going, making four straight free throws and another jumper to give the Raptors a 27-17 lead.

The Knicks fought back out of a timeout as Jose Alvarado and Mitchell Robinson provided a spark, including connecting on an alley-oop. Looking to tie the game, Jalen Brunson got fouled on a shot from deep and made all three free throws. Brunson then found Mikal Bridges for three on his first attempt to give New York a 32-31 lead at the end of the quarter, finishing on a 15-4 run.

-- Anunoby stayed hot and sank his second three-pointer to open the second quarter, and Karl-Anthony Towns scored inside to force an early Raptors' timeout. Former Knick RJ Barrett helped Toronto come back, making two straight buckets to tie the game at 37.

Towns and the Knicks flipped the switch, going on a 13-2 run to reclaim the lead with the big man getting a steal and a fastbreak dunk to cap it off. However, Towns was soon forced to the bench with three fouls halfway through the second quarter.

-- Landry Shamet scored seven straight for the Knicks before Mohamed Diawara buried his second three of the game to make it a 62-49 game. Another quick run by Barrett and Ingram kept the Raptors in it, who all of a sudden trailed by just seven points. Brunson attacked the rim with the clock winding down to push the lead back to 10 and Josh Hart blocked Immanuel Quickley at the buzzer to hold onto a 68-58 lead at halftime.

Anunoby led NY in scoring with 14 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting, Towns put up an impressive 13-6-5 with a steal and block, and Brunson had 11 points. Ingram carried the Raptors with 26 first-half points.

-- The back-and-forth contest continued throughout the third quarter, but the Raptors went on an 8-0 run in the final two minutes to cut the Knicks' lead down to two points. Brunson hit a much-needed three in the corner with 35 seconds remaining to put New York up 87-82 heading into the fourth quarter. Toronto won the third, 24-19, despite Ingram only scoring five points in the period.

-- Barrett and Quickley's revenge game was in full force in the fourth quarter, scoring five straight points as the Raptors only trailed by two, 95-93, with 5:26 left on the clock. Hart gave the Knicks a boost with a perfect bounce-pass to Bridges for a dunk and then Brunson buried a clutch three-pointer to push the lead back up to seven. The defense stepped up and Towns, Hart, and Brunson all scored again down the stretch to seal the deal over their Atlantic Division rivals.

New York held Toronto to just 13 points in the fourth quarter, closing the game on a 16-2 run.

-- The Knicks shot 57 percent from the field and 34 percent from three (10-for-29) compared to the Raptors' 45 and 29 percent shooting. They also dominated the rebound battle, 44-28. Brunson led the way with 26 points and 10 of the team's 32 assists. Towns added a strong 21 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, a steal, and a block. Anunoby finished with 15 points after his big first quarter, Shamet had 12 points off the bench, and Bridges ended with 11 points. Ingram led Toronto with 31 points, Barret had 20, and Quickley scored 13 points in their fourth loss to the Knicks this season.

Game MVP: Josh Hart

Hart scored 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists. His defense and intensity came up big for NY all night long. He finished a plus-14 in 31 minutes, second on the team to only Alvarado (plus-19).

Here are the takeaways...

Game MVP: Josh Hart

Highlights

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