Orlando Magic Grades: New York Knicks 101, Orlando Magic 90
The New York Knicks get it done on both ends of the floor and pick up a 101-90 victory over the Orlando Magic. The Magic’s slow start allowed the Knicks to pull away.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Knicks | 31 | 29 | 19 | 22 | 101 |
| Magic | 24 | 27 | 16 | 23 | 90 |
The Orlando Magic could not follow a strong night with another strong night against the New York Knicks.
With the Knicks facing a Magic team adjusting to their new smaller lineups, the Knicks used their size to their advantage all game in a 101-90 win at the Amway Center on Wednesday.
Kristaps Porzingis presented problems all night for the Magic, scoring 20 points and nine rebounds.
It was the Knicks’ defense that proved the key, frustrating the Magic all night long. Orlando shot just 41.0 percent from the floor for the game and recorded a season-low 11 assists. The Magic struggled to get their offense moving. Orlando fell behind by eight or nine point at halftime and never seemed able to make a push to cut the lead down.
New York coasted to victory.
First Quarter
The Orlando Magic did not start of the game exactly how they wanted. Orlando shot 8 for 22 with five turnovers after the first quarter.
It did not help the Knicks started off the game on fire at the 3-point line, making 5 of 10. Carmelo Anthony scored 10 points in the quarter to lead the way.
Second Quarter
The Magic started the second quarter on a 10-0 run to bring the lead by one, 42-41. D.J. Augustin scored 11 of the Magic’s 41 points in the first half. But that was about all the positive the Magic would experience for the rest of the night.
After Orlando’s run, New York started its own run, going 11-0 for a 49-41
The only highlight and saving grace came with 51 seconds left in the half, Evan Fournier threw down a monstrous dunk on Porzingis to cut Knicks lead down to 9.
Despite Orlando’s terrible defense throughout the entire second quarter, the team was able to step up its defense towards the end of the quarter preventing New York from taking a double-digit lead to the locker room.
Third Quarter
With 8:55 left Evan Fournier knocked down a 3-pointer, cutting the Knicks lead back to nine. Unfortunately for the Magic, Kristaps Porzingis came back to hit a 3-pointer to bring the Knicks lead back up to 12. Porzingis had 19 points at the 8:00 mark.
It was a sign of the back-and-forth nature of the half as neither team truly took control and the Knicks maintained their cushion.
The Knicks pushed their lead up to 16 points in the quarter. The Magic’s offense could not click in the third quarter, scoring only 16 points in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The Magic started picking up their defense to try to get back into the game. They seemed to keep a puncher’s chance of getting back into the game. orlando could not get key buckets when the team needed it or key stops either.
The Knicks held Orlando to 40 percent shooting, Porzingis led the Knicks with 20 points and nine rebounds. Derrick Rose was a blizzard of quickness, dropping 19 points, with seven rebounds and four assists.
B-. Nikola Vucevic had a pretty solid night despite Orlando’s loss. Vucevic recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds. Although Vucevic shot the ball poorly, he was able to put up decent numbers in getting another double-double. <p>Vucevic played well offensively but defensively he could help not stop the Knicks from scoring inside. Often, Vucevic would get stuck having to guard and corral the ball handler who blew past his man on the perimeter. He got caught in this in-between region and could not defend multiple people.</p><p>Even then, he was still a bit late. And forced his jumpers offensively.</p>. C. Orlando Magic. NIKOLA VUCEVIC
Jeff Green had a quiet night, scoring 11 points with two rebounds and two blocks. Green went 4 for 10 and missed all four of his 3-point shots. <p>Green kept trying to shoot his way into the game but it just did not work for Green. Jeff Green and Evan Fournier two man game just did not work for the Magic.</p>. F. Orlando Magic. JEFF GREEN. C-
PF. Orlando Magic. AARON GORDON. D. Aaron Gordon had a cold night against the Knicks, only recording 10 points and five rebounds while struggling with foul trouble. <p>Gordon came into this game after a quad contusion. During tonight’s game, Gordon took a shot to his nose after he was hit in the face by the back of Carmelo Anthony’s head.<br />Gordon did have some nice moves but just couldn’t make his shots tonight shooting a low 33 percent. Part of that was his shot selection though. Gordon often settled for mid-range pullups and faded away in the post rather than taking smaller players to the basket. Gordon is still finding his footing at his new position.</p>
NEW YORK KNICKS. B+. The New York Knicks beat an Orlando team that is in worse shape than they are. <p>Derrick Rose had his way against Elfrid Payton. Kristaps Porzingis also was back in the starting lineup and gave the Magic matchup nightmares with his 3-point shooting. </p><p>New York shot lights out from the first quarter all the way until the final buzzer. The Knicks led the Magic to as many as 11 points in the first half and extended their advantage to 16 points in the 3rd quarter. The Knicks held the Orlando Magic to just 39 second half points.</p>. 26-36. 12th East