On Tuesday, the Magic came up just short of a third-straight win in the Amway Center, losing 102-98 to the New York Knicks. It is Orlando’s 33rd loss of the season, meanwhile it is New York’s 30th win of the season. The Magic are also now 0-2 this season against the Knicks.
Orlando Head Coach Jamahl Mosley on the game, “It was a very hard fought game, both teams battled. It was a playoff type atmosphere with the physicality…they made some great plays down the stretch.”
Second Half Struggles Strike
The first half was well in the Magic’s control. The team lead New York 48-40 in a low-scoring first half where both teams shot 42% from the field each as teams.
Back-to-back buckets by point guard Markelle Fultz pushed Orlando far ahead in this dominant half. he finished with 21 points and 6 assists.
The Knicks struggled with turnovers in the first half. They had 8 in the first half compared to the Magic having just 3. However, the script flipped in the second half. Orlando had 8 in the second half, while New York had just 3 and seemed more controlled with the basketball.
The Magic were also not great from beyond the arc. As a team, they went 6-25 (24%). The Knicks were significantly better from three-point territory as they went 15-43 (35%) from that area.
Shooting guard Immanuel Quickley and New York big man Julius Randle accounted for 8 of the Knicks’ threes, helping to push them past Orlando for the win.
Jalen Brunson’s Great Game Helps the Knicks Complete the Comeback
Brunson has been doing decently well for himself in New York since leaving the Dallas Mavericks. The 5th-year guard has averaged 23.2 points, 6.2 assists, and is shooting a career best from the free throw line (84.2%).
The great season continued Tuesday in the Amway Center. Brunson finished with 25 points (leading all players), 5 assists, and had 2 steals contributing to the Knicks’ sudden surge of turnovers created in the second half.
Brunson also turned the ball over himself only once. His turnover rate has been up in New York and it was one of his best games of the season when it came to taking care of the rock.
He also went an astonishing 9-13 (69%) from the field.
Other Knicks players that played well included Randle and Quickley who had 22 and 18 points respectively. Randle had a double-double as he added 14 rebounds to his stat line on the night.
Up Next
The Magic now sit at 22-33 on the season and are three games back from the Indiana Pacers for the final spot in the play-in tournament. Their next game will be at home again Thursday night as they are set to battle Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in the Amway Center. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. E.T.