Magic 100, Knicks 91
ORLANDO -- Guard Victor Oladipo lost his starting job, but he still scored a season-high 24 points to lead the Orlando Magic to a 100-91 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.
Oladipo, who started 83 of his previous 84 games with the Magic, was benched in favor of Channing Frye, but he accepted it well.
"I'm going to embrace it," Oladipo said before the game. "Whatever it takes to win, that's what I'm going to do."
Forward Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, but his Knicks never led in the second half.
Magic center Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 12 rebounds. Forward Tobias Harris added 17 points and 10 rebounds, and point guard Elfrid Payton had 12 points and 11 assists.
Knicks point guard Jose Calderon finished with 25 points. Center Robin Lopez had eight points and 12 rebounds. Rookie Kristaps Porzingis, who had scored 20 points or more in three of the previous four games, had just eight points but contributed eight rebounds and six blocked shots.
The Knicks (8-8) never got closer than six points in the fourth quarter. They shots just 37.3 percent (31 of 83) from the field. The Magic made only 34 of 86 shots (39.5 percent) but converted 27 of 32 free throws.
The Magic (7-8) led 63-72 going into the final period after getting 10 points from Vucevic and eight from Oladipo in the third.
The Knicks opened the second half by scoring the first seven points and cutting the deficit to four. Vucevic, though, responded by scoring eight points in the next six minutes.
Despite shooting just 32.7 percent from the field in the first half, the Magic led 46-35 at intermission. The Knicks shot just 29.3 percent and committed eight turnovers in the first two periods.
Anthony led everyone with 13 points and Harris had 11 in the first half. The Magic took command late in the first quarter and carried it into the second. The Knicks went eight minutes without a field goal.
The Magic led 28-17 and 36-25. Reserve center Jason Smith, a former Knick, had eight points in the second period. Lopez had 10 rebounds and eight points in the first half.
Porzingis had three blocked shots in the first six minutes, but he failed to score in the first half.
NOTES: Knicks rookie F Kristaps Porzingis was booed by New York fans on draft night but quickly became one of the most popular players. "I'm not surprising myself," he said earlier this week. "I knew what I was capable of. Maybe other people are, but I knew what I could do." ... Magic G C.J. Watson missed his seventh consecutive game with a strained left calf. ... The Magic came into the game averaging 90.07 field goal attempts per game, most in the NBA. They also were holding opponents to 42.7 percent shooting from the field, which is lower than any Magic team in history. ... Because of a quirk in the schedule, the Knicks return home Friday to play Miami for the second time this week. They lost in Miami on Monday night. They have lost to the Heat three consecutive times at Madison Square Garden.