With Monday night’s game coming on the 75th anniversary of the first game played in the NBA — between the Knicks and the Toronto Huskies in what officially was the BAA back then — and serving as a rematch of the combatants, there already was a connection between the Toronto Raptors and the Knicks.
And as the game began the Knicks seemed intent on showing just how far they — and the NBA — had come, pouring in three-point field goals and throwing down dunks to the delight of the crowd at Madison Square Garden, a far cry from the 68-66 kickoff to the league in 1946.