Despite a double-double from Jalen Brunson, the Knicks defense collapsed in the fourth quarter in their 133-121 loss to the Magic in Orlando on Saturday.
Coming off their first road win of the season, the Knicks could not duplicate their performance as the Magic shot 55 percent from the field and 39 percent from three to defeat New York for the second straight time this season.
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The last time these two teams met (Nov. 12 at MSG), the Magic outmuscled the Knicks and ended New York’s five-game winning streak, 124-107. It was arguably the team’s worst loss of the season. This one is probably their second-worst.
Brunson, who injured his ankle the last time he faced the Magic and missed two games, led New York with 33 points on 12 of 21 shooting with 11 assists and three rebounds.
Unfortunately for the Knicks, they lost two rotation players in this one. Miles McBride was questionable before the game with an illness, but was good to go after shootaround. However, the guard never saw the floor and was not seen on the bench for the whole game. Landry Shamet, who started alongside Brunson, Mitchell Robinson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, left early in the first quarter after a midcourt collision led to a shoulder injury.
The Knicks (9-6) are now 1-5 on the road this season.
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Here are the takeaways…
-The Knicks, led by Brunson, got off to a quick 11-2 start, but the shots stopped falling and the Magic got out to a 12-0 run of their own once the bench started coming in.
The Villanova trio of Brunson (14), Bridges (9) and Josh Hart (2) accounted for 25 of the team’s 29 points in the quarter. However, Hart picked up three fouls in the first in extended time with Shamet out. Towns was 0-for-4 (0-2 from three) in the first quarter.
The Magic ended the opening frame up 31-29, thanks to Desmond Bane grabbing a rebound on a missed free throw by his teammate and flipping the ball up and in for an and-one. Bane (10) and Franz Wagner (12) led the way for the Magic in the first quarter as they shot 53 percent.
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-Orlando got out to a quick 6-0 run to start, but some big threes from Jordan Clarkson helped cut the deficit in what was a back-and-forth quarter. The Knicks were up 66-64 at the half. The Knicks shot 61 percent through two quarters with Brunson doing most of the heavy lifting, scoring 23 in 18 minutes. Towns finally got on the board with six points in the second but he was a non-factor on the offensive end. Wagner led the Magic with 23 in his 17 minutes at the half, and no matter who was defending him, the Knicks had no answer.
-Clarkson began the third quarter with the starters, but it was Towns who found his offensive game. The big man scored 11 points, thanks in large part to free throws. But the Magic found offense from everyone as the Knicks found themselves down five points after three quarters.
The same was the case in the fourth as the Knicks had a hard time keeping up with the Magic, getting down by as many as 18 points in the final frame. After sitting out most of the third due to foul trouble and being ineffective against the athletic Magic forwards, head coach Mike Brown brought in his big man but it was more of the same as Wagner continued his torrid scoring.
But it was the Knicks’ defense that let this one get away. The Magic were shooting 77 percent halfway through the fourth quarter (finished 54 percent), and three starters had season highs for points with Wagner (37), Bane (27) and Jalen Suggs (26) leading the way for Orlando. With less than three minutes remaining, Brown emptied the bench down 12 points, putting a bow on the loss.
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The Magic outrebounded the Knicks for most of the game until the benches cleared, but finished 11-9 on the offensive glass.
-With the injuries and foul trouble, Brown searched for answers off the bench. He called on Tyler Kolek and Mohamed Diawara at times, but he leaned heavily on Hart, Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele.
Here’s how the Knicks bench performed:
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Hart: 12 points, five rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes (fouled out)
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Clarkson: 15 points, two rebounds and five assists in 34 minutes
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Diawara: zero points (0-3), two assists and one rebound in 10 minutes
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Yabusele: Four points, one rebound in 13 minutes
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Kolek: Eight points, one assist, two steals in 17 minutes
Even Ariel Hukporti came in for a play before halftime, before the benches were emptied. Pacome Dadiet came in for the final three minutes.
Game MVP: Franz Wagner
Could go to Bane, who did it on both sides of the ball, but Wagner was unstoppable and rendered Robinson unusable. Wagner finished with 37 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
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Highlights
What’s next
The Knicks will continue their road trip, heading across the river to take on the Nets on Monday night at 7:30 p.m.
