The NBA celebrated its 75th anniversary with a match-up between New York and Toronto – just as it was in the beginning.
This time, however, the result was reversed.
The Raptors took down the Knicks 113-104 at Madison Square Garden on Monday, exactly 75 years after the Knicks beat the now-defunct Toronto Huskies 68-66 in the inaugural game of what was then the Basketball Association of America.
OG Anunoby scored a career-high 36 points and Gary Trent Jr. added 26 points as the Raptors overturned a halftime deficit and earned a fourth-straight win on a landmark night for the NBA.
The Knicks, who fell to their second loss of the season, got off to a fast start and held an eight-point lead at the end of the first.
But the Raptors, led by 24-year-old Anunoby’s superb display which saw him eclipse his previous career-best of 32 points, rallied in the second half, outscoring the Knicks 38-22 in the third quarter.
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“I’ve just been trying to adjust and learn – I think I’m going to keep learning as the year goes on and get better and better with it,” Anunoby told reporters after the game.
The NBA’s first-ever game on November 1, 1946, was played in front of a crowd of 7,090 people at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, a day before seven other teams played their first-ever games.
While the Huskies lasted just one season, the Knicks have gone on to become one of three franchises to feature in every NBA season alongside the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors (previously the Philadelphia Warriors).
Ticket prices for the inaugural game in Toronto ranged from 75 cents to $2.50, although a special promotion meant that anyone taller than six feet eight inches – the height of Huskies center George Nostrand – would earn free admission.
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As part of the celebration of the NBA’s first game, league legends Clyde Frazier, Earl Monroe and Bob McAdoo were honored in person at Madison Square Garden.
The league and Nike also unveiled new City Edition uniforms on Monday to mark the 75th anniversary.
