Thumbnail: Gamba The Bard (@GambatheBard on X)
The New York Knicks avenged their lone loss at the Garden this season, beating the Orlando Magic 106-100. The game looked and felt like a matinee affair, but New York came through with a strong defensive effort to win.
The Knicks were missing Karl-Anthony Towns, but the remaining players stepped up in his absence. Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti matched Orlando’s physicality, and the team’s half-court defense held strong.
New York has had a habit recently of second-quarter collapses. They suffered a similar fate against Orlando, though the Knicks’ defense kept the Magic from taking too much momentum. Franz Wagner left the game with an injury, which also sapped some of Orlando’s energy.
The Knicks continued to put clamps on Orlando in the second half, building their lead to double-digits in the third quarter and spending the fourth quarter ahead by a comfortable margin until the third-stringers gave up a late run.
This is an impressive victory over a conference rival, though it may have come with another injury to a key player. Let’s take a closer look at the standout performances.
