The New York Knicks have officially clawed their way onto a spot on the NBA playoff bracket following a win over the Toronto Raptors.

New York prevailed in its penultimate game of the 2025-26 regular season on Friday night, beating Toronto by a 112-95 final at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks (53-28) have now won five in a row with the playoffs looming as stars Jalen Brunson (29 points on 12-of-18) and Karl-Anthony Towns (22 points, 10 rebounds) once again put forth sterling late efforts.

A combination of the Knicks’ win and Boston’s triumph over New Orleans officially locked the former in the third seed on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket. While their first-round opponent is unknown for the time being, the Knicks are stationed in the top three for the third consecutive season, their first such streak since 1993-95.

New York could well face the Raptors in the upcoming festivities, which contributed to an uneasy aura around the contest.

Further awkwardness was generated by several absences: the Knicks were missing depth stars Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson due to injury management, while ex-Manhattanites RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley were among those in active duty for Ontario. The Knicks also lost ex-Raptor OG Anunoby to an ankle ailment that kept him out of the second half and had no immediate update in the aftermath.

New York, fortunately for the metropolitan masses, handled business well enough to overcome the awkwardness and absences: they scored all but three of the first 17 points of the game (with half the tallies coming from the arms of Towns).

Toronto’s final lead, a 21-20 advantage earned via a Sandro Mamukelashvili free throw in the final minute, was quickly erased on a Jordan Clarkson jumper. The Knicks solidified their eternal lead by scoring the first 10 points of the second period, which featured emphatic triples from Clarkson and Landry Shamet (who took over Anunoby’s duties in the latter 24).

The Raptors never got closer than seven after that, and the deficit was at least nine for the whole second half. When it did reach that fateful point, reaching it on Brandon Ingram’s fastbreak double, the Knicks pulled away with nine straight, part of a Brunson barrage that saw him score half of the Knicks’ 28 points in the third to establish a status quo of double figures.

Friday was a costly experience for the Raptors (45-36), who failed to secure the sixth and final automatic Eastern Conference playoff spot. Recurring Knicks nemesis Mamukelashvili led the way with 17 points off the bench for the Raptors, who are currently placed in sixth while owning a tiebreaker with Orlando. The Knicks completed a season sweep of the Raptors with a 5-0 mark (including their win in NBA Cup knockout play) and extended their win streak over Toronto to 13.

The Knicks close out the regular season on Sunday evening as the Charlotte Hornets visit Manhattan (6 p.m. ET, MSG).