Scoring forty points in a single quarter typically fills a team with a sense of invincibility. It’s the kind of offensive surge that overwhelms opponents, signaling to them that there’s no way to halt the onslaught.
Currently, the New York Knicks lead the NBA with eight such high-scoring quarters. They added another to their tally on Sunday by scoring 41 points in the first quarter against the Toronto Raptors—the same team they are set to face in the NBA Cup quarterfinals on December 9—hinting at what seemed to be another dominant performance at Madison Square Garden.
In a league where points are highly coveted, this feat is noteworthy. The Knicks now have three more 40-point quarters than teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, and Miami Heat, who each have six. Impressively, the Knicks once scored 83 points in the second half of a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, achieving back-to-back 40-point quarters.
Meanwhile, both the Timberwolves and the Philadelphia 76ers have managed to reach the 40-point mark in a quarter five times. The Knicks have doubled the number of such quarters compared to the league’s other 22 teams.
However, an old issue resurfaced during Sunday’s game. Despite the 41-point first quarter, the Knicks managed only 18 points in the second. The team’s intensity waned, and their defense slackened. This allowed Scottie Barnes to sink three consecutive three-pointers, prompting a timeout from Mike Brown. What seemed like an easy win quickly narrowed to a seven-point lead by halftime.
In the end, New York secured a 116-94 victory, boosting their season record to 13-3 and 10-1 at home. They regained a 20-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the recurring issue is clear: while the Knicks excel at building leads, maintaining them remains a challenge.
“Just discipline. We got a little lazy at certain points in the game,” Josh Hart said in his walk-off interview. “They’re a good team, they made runs and we were able to weather the storm.”
A 40-point first quarter against Brooklyn on Nov. 9 gave way to a 40-point second quarter surrendered to the Nets without Cam Thomas. Against Memphis, a 42-point opener dissolved into a 39-point third quarter by the Grizzlies. Miami saw the Knicks drop 46 in the second quarter — and immediately allow 36 in the third of what became an eight-point escape.
Sunday followed a similar blueprint: a blistering start, then an abrupt stall. The Knicks didn’t give up 40 this time, but they took their foot off the gas — just enough of a lull to invite the Raptors back into the game.
“[They’re] extremely athletic. They’re big and have big wings, and they can shoot the ball very well,” head coach Mike Brown said ahead of tipoff. “They really get out in transition and punish you in transition. A lot of guys who can run well. They can score at all three levels, and then defensively, they’re aggressive, they create turnovers which creates points for them in other ways.”
Luckily for the Knicks, their opening 40-ball provided just enough cushion to absorb the turbulence that followed. Miles McBride came out flamethrowing, drilling four of his first five threes and single-handedly outscoring the Raptors, 12–10, to start the game. Toronto chopped the lead to as little as three midway through the third quarter — 7:08 on the clock, tension thick in the building — before New York rediscovered its rhythm and answered with another avalanche, this time a 34-point third period.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the way with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting, and Josh Hart added one of his most complete games of the season: 20 points (4-of-7 from deep), 12 rebounds and seven assists. Jalen Brunson chipped in 18 points, seven assists and six boards on what amounted to a relatively light workload. All five Knicks starters scored in double figures yet again, and Mitchell Robinson anchored the second unit with 15 rebounds — seven on the offensive glass — in just 17 minutes.
Immanuel Quickley delivered 19 points and seven assists in his return to The Garden, and Scottie Barnes added 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting.
The Knicks and Raptors will get another look at each other in nine days, but the stakes will be far heavier next time: a win-or-go-home NBA Cup quarterfinal in Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena with a trip to Las Vegas on the line.
Maybe this is simply the nature of basketball — a game of runs, where even big leads evaporate and momentum swings on a couple of made threes. Maybe surrendering stretches is just part of the natural ebb and flow of a team that scores at such a high clip.
Or maybe it’s something worth monitoring. Because this version of the Knicks can build leads with ease, but learning how to extend them — not sit on them — will determine how high their ceiling really is. They’ve been fortunate so far, now 7–1 in games where they’ve posted a 40-point quarter.
But fortune doesn’t last forever.
