Knicks neutralize Raptors offence to take series lead

The Toronto Raptors may have to learn a lesson from the Toronto Maple Leafs if they want to avoid a repeat of last year's first-round playoff sweep at the hands of the New York Knicks.

To wit, the Raptors must be more prepared to pay the price physically, as the Knicks proved that as in hockey, the playoffs can be an entirely different season.

While the Raptors easily won the regular-season series against New York, the Knicks manhandled Toronto and won the battles under the hoop to key a 92-85 victory in the opening game of their best-of-five Eastern Conference quarter-final.

Allan Houston was back in his familiar role as Raptor-killer, hitting for a game-high 23 points, most of them coming from his lethal outside shooting, but the player making the biggest impact for the Knicks may have been Larry Johnson, and in an entirely backhanded way.

Johnson sat out the game with his chronically ailing back still plaguing him, forcing Kurt Thomas into the starting lineup, and it was Thomas who set the tone with a hard-nosed, physical game -- a tone the Raptors remember well from last year's ill-fated series, which was dominated by a tough Knicks defence that completely disrupted the Raptors' inside game.

In addition to scoring 17 points, Thomas pulled down 13 rebounds and was instrumental in shutting down the Raptors' own rebounding game, especially on the offensive boards. Thomas effectively cleared a large opening under the New York hoop, opening more than enough space for Marcus Camby, playing with a sore hip, to take control with 18 rebounds.

"We were going to give 100 per cent no matter what," Thomas said. "We played great today. We played as a team and finished well."

Making matters worse for the Raptors, Latrell Sprewell and the Knicks returned to their campaign of double- and triple-teaming Vince Carter with renewed vigour, limiting the Raptors' superstar to 13 points on dismal 23 per cent shooting from the floor.

"A lot of times (Carter) was rushing," said point guard Chris Childs, who came to the Raptors in the trade that sent Mark Jackson to the Knicks. "He was out to prove a point that last year was going to be totally different. It's only natural for an athlete to want to do that."

"My mom always told me there'll be days like this," Carter said after the game. "As a matter of fact, she just told me that."

The Raptors did move the ball around the perimeter well, but seemed cowed at the prospect of penetrating the lane. Typically, Carter would have a notion about driving the lane, but confronted with the double-team choking the lane shut, he'd kick it back out to the perimeter.

And that was a big problem in a game when the Raptors' outside shots weren't dropping and when their shot selection was panicked and often dubious.

Guard Alvin Williams and centre Antonio Davis each scored a team-high 19 points, but Davis was the only Raptor not to be thrown off his game down low. Davis absorbed a number of hacks and went 7-for-8 from the foul line, while accounting for the bulk of the Raptors' rebounding with 15 boards.

Williams, meanwhile, continued his strong play with a game-high eight assists, solid outside shooting and a number of daring, often ill-advised circus shots. Still, he provided one of the only sparks and elements of fearless play for the Raptors, who seemed back on their heels from the moment Thomas threw Carter to the hardwood on his first drive to the basket.

"That wasn't a block in my opinion," Carter said. "He hit my head. I was expecting it; I was ready for it. The key question was can I get up from it and keep playing, and I did."

Carter went on to miss his next seven shots, and he wouldn't assert any authority against the Knicks' defence until he flushed home a big dunk to close the first half.

"I'm not blaming this on Vince," Davis said. "It's not about Vince making or missing shots. We came here as a team."

Even with all their problems, the game was within the Raptors' grasp until the dying seconds, largely due to Davis' efforts. Four foul shots by Davis in the final 1 minutes kept the Raptors to within two, and Davis put back a Carter miss with 28 seconds on the clock kept Toronto alive.

But the Raptors immediately fouled Glen Rice, who made both his free throws, then Charlie Ward, a veteran force down the stretch, who salted the game away with two more before Carter threw away an in-bounds pass with 16 seconds remaining.

"It is frustrating because we feel we're capable of winning this series, but you've got to get one first," Carter said.

The Raptors have until Thursday night, when Game 2 will be played at Madison Square Garden, to come up with a new game plan for playoff basketball.