ORLANDO, FL – The Orlando Magic played the New York Knicks on Sunday night at the Amway Center, and the short handed Magic were handed a 118-88 Loss.
Orlando, a team that never loses its fight, had their hands full with the under achieving Knicks.
Orlando, already dealing with injuries to Wendell Carter Jr., potential rookie of the year Franz Wagner (injured on Friday in a battle with Toronto) and others, lost one of its key leaders in Cole Anthony with a toe injury early in the first quarter.
Orlando managed to keep things fairly close, ending the first quarter down 29-20. By the half, New York still maintained a 10 point lead, but Orlando still managed to hang in there, not too far behind.
In the third quarter, the Knicks blew the doors off the joint. In the third quarter, the Knicks dominated the Magic 37-15.
The lack of having Carter battling on the inside left a void that managed to be a filed day for the Knicks big men.
The Knicks dominated points in the paint against the magic 50-28, second chance points 20-11 and fast break points 16-6 for the game.
With the loss, the Magic are one step closer to securing the best odds in the NBA Draft lottery.
Bright spots? Well, there weren’t many. Orlando was forced to start Ignas Brazdeikis (13 points)and lost Cole 2: 38 minutes into the game. Devin Cannady didn’t have his magic tonight and showed a lot of room for growth, scoring 4 points in his 27min.
Markelle Fultz brought the energy and some spectacular play, but his eleven points and six assists weren’t nearly enough.
Without key scorers like Wagner, Carter, and even the fight of Anthony, this was just another game to get through to get through the season, as the Magic have only three more games left in this party before its off season, vacation, and back to the drawing board.
The Magic face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday at the Amway Center on Tuesday night at 7pm, an away game vs the Charlotte Hornets on Thrusday, and finish the season at home against the Miami Heat on Sunday April 10th.
