By: Norman Castro, EBC Sports International, New York Bureau
NEW YORK (Eagle News) – A shorthanded New York Knicks team suffered their fourth loss in five games, falling 105-100 to the Orlando Magic at Madison Square Garden Sunday afternoon.
Playing without their top two scorers, Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr., the Knicks struggled to contain the Magic early as Orlando shot a blistering 14 of 23 from the field including 3 for 7 from the three-point line to close out the first quarter with a 36-25 lead.
A more energized and aggressive Knicks team came through in the second quarter cutting their deficit to three, trailing 54-51 at halftime.
They opened the second half with an early lead, led by Michael Beasley’s aggressive play on offense. Both teams battled back and forth for the lead throughout the third quarter but the Magic ended the quarter up 78-76 leading to the fourth quarter.
The Knicks went on a 10-0 run as Courtney Lee’s lay up tied the game at 85 midway through the fourth quarter. However, Nikola Vucevic scored eight of the Magic’s ten straight points to gain control of the game and never trailed. Despite a late comeback, Vucevic 34-point performance seemed too much for the Knicks and couldn’t close out the game.
With Porzingis and Hardaway out due to injuries, the Knicks need to find a different identity to keep above .500.
“We were missing two of our big dogs and that hurt us a lot,” Beasley said. “But we still fought. We dug ourselves a hole deep. The first group gotta do better starting the game.”
Four Knicks were able to score in double digits. Beasley, who started for Porzingis at power forward led the Knicks with 21 points. Courtney Lee added 19 points, Kanter recorded another double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds and Lance Thomas chipped in 11 points off the bench. (Eagle News)