Karl-Anthony Towns returns to lineup, helps Knicks snap losing streak with 112-98 win over Raptors

The Knicks snapped their three-game losing streak with a 112-98 win over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night at the Garden.

Here are some takeaways…

– The Knicks had a bit of a scare early in this one, as Josh Hart was briefly forced to the locker room after taking a shot to the rib area midway through the opening frame. As always, though, he powered through and led all scorers with seven first-quarter points.

– Karl-Anthony Towns was powering through his knee injury after coming into the night questionable, and he showed no ill effects in the second, as he knocked down back-to-back baskets to spark an 8-0 run. Towns went on to drill three more buckets for 15 first-half points, but he was forced to the bench after picking up his third foul with three minutes remaining in the second.

– Toronto’s trio called BBQ (RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley) combined for 33 first-half points to help keep Toronto in the game but the Knicks carried a slim advantage into the break. Both offenses were on fire during the first half, putting up a total of 106 points while shooting 54 percent from the field.

– New York came flying out of the locker room and completely took things over. They used a 9-0 scoring run early in the third quarter and then a 14-0 run early in the fourth to open their largest leads of the game and officially put the pesky Raptors offense away for good.

– Towns led the way for the Knicks with 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field while reeling in 13 rebounds, as Toronto simply had no answer for him. OG Anunoby also enjoyed a strong night against his former team, finishing with 27 points of his own on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from behind the arc.

– Hart was all over the place as he finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists. Brunson was relatively in the scoring department (13 points) but he contributed six rebounds and seven assists in what ended up being a much-needed commanding victory.

– Landry Shamet (eight points) and Precious Achiwua (six points, four rebounds) stepped up with big minutes off the bench. Quickley ended the night with a team-high 22 points while Barrett had 16.