Frye Leaves With Sprained Knee, Knicks Leave With Loss to Raptors
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Mike James scored 37 points, one shy of his season high, and helped the Toronto Raptors take control in the third quarter of a 114-109 victory over the Knicks on last night.
Chris Bosh added 31 points and carried the Raptors for much of the fourth quarter, when James was quiet. Charlie Villanueva scored 15 as Toronto won for the fourth time in five games.
Besides the game, the Knicks lost Channing Frye early in the fourth quarter with a sprained left knee ligament. Toronto’s Andre Barrett was racing upcourt with the ball with a little more than 9 1/2 minutes left when he lost his balance and fell into Frye’s left leg. Frye, one of the NBA’s top rookies, was helped to the locker room.
X-rays were negative, but Frye will remain in New York for further testing instead of traveling with the Knicks for tonight’s game in Orlando.
Frye finished with 19 points. Jamal Crawford (16 points), Qyntel Woods (15), and Nate Robinson (12) led a strong bench effort as the Knicks tried to rally in the fourth quarter.
In a matchup of two of the NBA’s worst teams, neither led by more than six until James helped the Raptors pull away late in the third quarter. His 3-pointer gave Toronto a 73-67 lead, and after Frye made a three-point play, Morris Peterson answered with another 3-pointer to keep the Raptors ahead by six.
Bosh followed with a free throw, then James converted a three-point play on a tough drive into the lane, pushing Toronto’s lead to 80-70 with 3:09 left in the third. Francis scored, but James nailed another 3-pointer while being fouled, and his free throw made it 84-72.
After consecutive turnovers by Francis, Joey Graham made a jumper give the Raptors an 86-72 advantage.
The Knicks got within 10 to end the quarter, then scored the first five points of the fourth to cut Toronto’s lead to 86-81 on a 3-pointer by Woods. Bosh then scored Toronto’s next seven points as the Raptors regained a double-digit lead at 93-83, and the Knicks couldn’t get the deficit under six points until the final minute.
Crawford’s basket pulled New York to 112-108 with 51 seconds to go, but he was called for an offensive foul on the Knicks’ next possession to end their comeback hopes.
James scored 17 points in the first half. His third 3-pointer of the second quarter with 6.8 seconds left gave the Raptors a 55-53 halftime lead.
