Magic 111, Knicks 102: Scenes from another unspectacular L

The world champion Knicks (0-3) hosted the Magic (1-2) at Madison Square Garden. The victory seemed almost assured, given that Orlando was playing without their star, Paolo Banchero, and the champs were feeling—let’s not say desperate, but certainly eager to notch one in the win column. Their terrible shooting from the lines—the three-point arc and free-throw line—let the guests stay close all night, and faulty fourth quarter defense sank our heroes, 111-102.

As with most stories, this one started differently than it ended. Making half their shots, the Knicks dropped ten unanswered points to start the game while the Disney’s missed their first eight attempts from the field. Frustrations boiled over when OG Anunoby plowed over screening Wendell Carter, Jr. After the barking teams were separated, Anunoby received a flagrant-one foul. That started a run, with four points by Anthony Black to halve the lead. This was Black’s season debut, after missing time due to injury.

Coach Mike Brown was determined to deploy all of his offensive weapons. Karl-Anthony Towns facilitated the offense to start the game, Jalen Brunson took the reins on the next possession, and then OG Anunoby had a chance to penetrate with the ball, kicking out to Josh Hart on the far side. They tried that last play a seccond time to lesser effect, but it smacked of a one that they intend to make a fixture of their repertoire.

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Towns sat at the midway mark after fouling Franz Wagner on a screen. Andre Drummond (4 PTS, 3 RBS, 7 MIN) relieved him. The Knicks misfired repeatedly from deep, but stayed ahead by dominating in the paint and on fast breaks. With the Magic stumbling and bumbling, the homers went up by 12 before finishing the quarter, 28-21.

KAT was at it again to start the second, laying out Jamal Cain on a screen for another foul. Love the player, hate the goofs. That brought Drummond back out. Reunited with the Magic, veteran Nikola Vučević laced a triple and led a comeback to tie the game. Tyler Kolek saw extended time because Jose Alvarado sat out with a sprained ankle. Kolek played hard, if not necessarily…

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Publish date : 2026-10-26 01:50:00

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