TORONTO — Forward Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points and the New York Knicks held on in the fourth quarter to defeat the Toronto Raptors 111-109 on Tuesday.
It was the second win in a row for the Knicks (4-4) and the third loss in a row for the Raptors (5-3).
Forward Lance Thomas scored 15 points off the bench for the Knicks and guard Langston Galloway scored 15, also as a reserve.
Center Robin Lopez had 12 points and eight rebounds before fouling out.
Guard DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 29 points and guard Kyle Lowry scored 23 points and added nine assists. Center Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and nine rebounds while guard Cory Joseph added 12 points and forward Luis Scola 11.
After Anthony missed a shot, the Raptors came back with two free throws by forward James Johnson to cut the lead to one point with 25.8 seconds to play in the fourth quarter. The fifth foul of the game by Lopez put Johnson at the line.
Lowry was called for a foul with 17.2 seconds to play and Thomas made both free throws for a three-point New York lead.
Lopez fouled out with 11.1 seconds to play and DeRozan made one of two free throws to cut New York’s lead to two points.
The Raptors picked up the rebound on DeRozan’s miss on the second foul shot. After a time out, Valanciunas missed a layup attempt and Thomas made two free throws for New York with 3.7 seconds on the clock.
Joseph hit a 3-pointer, trimming the lead to one point and Galloway made one of two free throws with 1.5 seconds left. Toronto could not connect on a desperation shot at the buzzer.
The Knicks led 24-17 after the first quarter led by six points from Lopez. DeRozan scored 10 points for the Raptors.
The Raptors came back to lead by three points during the second quarter by Anthony scored eight of his 19 first-half points in the final 1:04 of the second quarter to give the Nets a 60-52 lead.
Anthony scored the first two points of the third quarter and guard Jose Calderon followed with a 3-pointer to increase New York’s lead to 65-55. Toronto came back to tie at 69-69.
DeRozan made one of two free throws with 4:42 to play the third to give Toronto a 72-71 lead. Forward Cleanthony Early made a 3-pointer with the final shot of the third quarter to tie the game at 85.
The Knicks led 98-93 on a running layup by Early off a fast break with 8:08 to play in the fourth quarter.
Johnson made two free throws with 6:10 left in regulation to cut New York’s lead to 98-97. Anthony hit a jumper to put the Knicks ahead 100-97 and Calderon made it a five-point lead with a pullup jumper with 4:05 remaining.
DeRozan’s layup cut the New York lead to 102-99 with 2:55 left. When DeRozan made two free throws with 2:22 to play the lead was down to one before Lopez restored answered with a put-back layup and Thomas followed with a layup that gave the Knicks a 106-101 lead with 1:31 to play.
The Raptors trimmed the lead to three points with 51.4 seconds to play on a tip shot by Valanciunas.
NOTES: New York G Arron Afflalo (hamstring) did not play Tuesday but could make his Knicks debut Wednesday in Charlotte. He missed nearly a month with the injury and when he does return coach Derek Fisher said he would keep the 30-year-old from playing both games of back-to-back sets. …Toronto F DeMarre Carroll (sore right heel) did not play. His starting spot and matchup with Knicks F Carmelo Anthony went to F James Johnson. Carroll also did not play Sunday in the loss to the Heat at Miami. …Toronto F/G Terrence Ross missed the game after sustaining a left thumb ligament injury Monday in practice. There is no timetable for his return. … The Raptors do not play two games in a row at home this season until Dec. 3-5, the longest stretch of any team to start this season. … The Raptors will play the 76ers on Wednesday in Philadelphia. … The Knicks will play the Hornets in Charlotte on Wednesday.