Knicks vs Raptors: a quick preseason rematch after Toronto's 50-point win
New York gets a second look at Toronto two days after a 148-98 loss in the first of their two preseason meetings.
The New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors meet again on Thursday night, two days after Toronto won the first of their two scheduled preseason games by 148-98. It is exhibition basketball, and nobody should read a championship forecast into it, but the circumstances make this a more interesting night than most October warm-ups.
What happened on Tuesday
The first meeting was played at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, and the Raptors won it 148-98, a 50-point margin. A same-day preview from EssentiallySports listed Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart as game-time decisions for New York, describing most of them as resting after a back-to-back. Torch has not confirmed which of them actually played, so the scoreline should be read with that caveat: a preseason blowout is often as much a statement about who was on the floor as about the teams.
The same preview said Kawhi Leonard was cleared to make his preseason debut for Toronto, and listed Allen Graves, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Alijah Martin and Nate Bittle as game-time decisions with a mix of groin, dental, knee and foot issues.
Form, such as it is
By Torch's own records, the Knicks come in at 0-4 in the preseason and have lost four straight. The Raptors are 2-1 and have won their last two. Those numbers carry little predictive weight this early, when rotations are experimental and minutes are managed, but a heavy defeat followed by a quick rematch gives New York a clear reason to want a better showing.
What to watch
The Knicks' 2026-27 preseason schedule, as laid out by Sports Illustrated's Knicks site in July, has the two Raptors games bookending the early part of the exhibition calendar, with the second one listed as a home game for New York. That makes Thursday the first chance for the home crowd to see how the rotation looks.
Three things are worth watching. First, whether the Knicks' regular starters play real minutes after Tuesday's rest decisions. Second, how Toronto manages Leonard's workload if he plays again so soon after his debut. Third, whether the Knicks' bench and fringe-roster players can compete over a full game, since much of the preseason's real value lies in deciding the final roster spots.
Why it matters
Preseason results do not count, and a 50-point loss in October has rarely defined a season. What the games do offer is early information on rotations, conditioning and chemistry. Torch will have a full account of what Thursday revealed once the game is played.
Betting lines for this game exist at several outlets, but Torch does not offer them as guidance and has not used them here.