Another not-so-hot team rolled into Orlando to take on the Magic tonight, and it was another not-so-hot performance the hometown team. It’s hard to really describe what just happened, but the Magic just got outplayed. The Knicks are a tough team to beat when they’re hitting their shots and getting up and down the floor and that’s exactly what they tonight. Combine New York’s energy with Orlando’s lack thereof and you’ve got the real story of tonight’s game. David Lee played a great game for the Knicks, keeping multiple plays alive and finishing with 20 points and 16 rebounds. As per usual the last few games the Magic slacked off for the first three quarters and they thought they could wake up and steal the game in the fourth quarter. That wasn’t the case tonight and it’s certainly not going to be the case next week when the playoffs begin. The Magic seemed uninterested again tonight and a disturbing trend is beginning to start. The Magic still have three games left this season, but with the No. 2 seed pretty much out of reach, I wonder if it’s in the best interest of the team for Stan Van Gundy to give his guys some rest headed into the playoffs. Three keys revisited: 1. Let Nate Robinson shoot, just don’t let him come inside. Yes. Nate settled for some outside jumpers tonight, but he wasn’t exactly the issue. It was Al Harrington and Wilson Chandler that were causing all the problems tonight. 2. Attack with Hedo Turkoglu. Yes. Hedo came out looking for his shot early in the game, scoring seven quick points in the first quarter. Turk looked like he had a little extra spring in his step tonight, making some great passes to set up his teammates. 3. Set up for three more Ws. No. It was another uneven performance by the Magic tonight, as they got outplayed by the Knicks in the third quarter. New York is a team that has nothing to play for, and with the way the Magic have performed lately it seems like earning the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference isn’t enough motivation. Key figures: 6 — The number of turnovers the Magic had in the first five minutes of the third quarter. 11 — The number of points the Knicks scored in a row during a third quarter run that coincided with multiple Orlando turnovers. 25, 40 — The number of assists and the number of made field goals by the Knicks. 15, 35 — The number of assists and the number of made field goals by the Magic 2 — The number of full games the Magic are now behind the Celtics. 3— The number of games left in the season for the Magic. 3 — The seed number the Magic are most likely to get after losing to the Knicks Magic’s best: Hedo Turkoglu. He came out looking to score, found his teammates when they were open, and finished well with a nice scoring outburst in the fourth quarter. But he couldn’t do it alone, and the Magic just couldn’t get a stop when they needed one tonight. Magic’s worst: Defense. It was pretty brutal tonight defensively for the Magic. Just because the Knicks don’t like to play defense doesn’t mean you have to play the same way. It’s hard to point to one area of the stat sheet to explain exactly how bad the Orlando defense was, but anyone who watched the game knows it was just plain bad. Defending Dwight: We all know the Knicks have “Krypo-Nate,” but David Lee and Jared Jeffries played the role of Lex Luthor tonight. Dwight finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds, but was never really a factor on the offensive end. He had six turnovers. Up next: The Magic have another tough back-to-back as they travel to New Jersey to take on the Nets Saturday night. It’s another match-up against a team that has nothing to play for, but with playoff seeding no longer an issue, it’ll be interesting to see what type of team Stan Van puts on the floor. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
New York Knicks 105, Orlando Magic 95
