Knicks takeaways from Monday's 98-94 loss to Magic, including fourth-quarter collapse
The Knicks fumbled away a fourth-quarter lead and lost to the Orlando Magic, 98-94, to begin a four-game homestand.
Here are the takeaways...
- After falling behind 3-0 on a three-point play to start the game, the Knicks ripped off an 18-5 run culminated by Miles McBride’s second three-pointer of the quarter to give themselves a 10-point lead six minutes into the game.
- Orlando responded immediately with a 10-1 run of its own to bring the score back to within a point. The only point scored by New York during that time was a Julius Randle technical free throw as the offense suddenly went cold, missing seven straight shots.
- Randle in particular struggled in the quarter and went 1-for-7 with four points in the opening 12 minutes. OG Anunoby and McBride were the team’s leading scorers after one with nine and six points, respectively.
Despite scoring just six points in the final six minutes of the quarter, the Knicks were tied, 24-24, going into the second quarter.
- Giving his starters a chance to collect themselves, head coach Tom Thibodeau went to the bench in the second quarter and players like Quentin Grimes, Precious Achiuwa, Josh Hart and Malachi Flynn chipped in and kept New York close during most of the quarter. The Knicks even grabbed a lead on an Anunoby three-pointer with 3:22 remaining in the half, but for the most part the game was back and forth.
- The second unit helped the Knicks take a 52-50 lead at the half, but it was starters Anunoby and McBride who continued to lead the team in points. Anunoby had 14 at the break and McBride, coming off a career-high 19 points, had 10. Both found themselves in a bit of foul trouble, though, with McBride getting whistled three times, Anunoby twice as well as Isaiah Hartenstein with three and Hart with two.
- After his struggles in the first half, Randle began the second half by making two three-pointers to increase New York’s lead. The lead kept growing, reaching as high as 11 points, as Donte DiVincenzo got hot from deep as well and McBride continued to shoot the ball well.
But just like the first quarter, the Magic finished the third on a 10-4 run to decrease their deficit to 78-73 and get back into the game before the start of the fourth quarter.
- The beginning of the final frame started out fine for the Knicks who scored 10 points in the first four and a half minutes and were up 88-81. After that, nothing went right for New York on offense as the team missed eight straight shots and relinquished its lead.
McBride scored with 1:30 left in the game to break the streak of missed baskets and bring the Knicks to within three points. The bucket also gave McBride 20 points on the day which set a new career-high for the guard who was starting for the injured Jalen Brunson.
- In the end, it wasn’t enough as New York couldn’t knock down free throws late in the game and the Magic did just enough on offense to give themselves a 98-94 win.
Highlights
What's next
The Knicks continue their four-game homestand with a battle against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m.
