Magic at Knicks
THE STORY: The New York Knicks are injury riddled as they host the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. Forward Amar’e Stoudemire is out indefinitely with a back injury while forward Carmelo Anthony (groin) and guard Jeremy Lin (knee) are questionable for the contest. New York is 7-1 since Mike Woodson took over as coach. Orlando has won three consecutive games after routing the Toronto Raptors on Monday. The Magic have won 14 of the last 17 meetings with the Knicks.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN, SUN (Orlando), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE MAGIC (32-18): Forward Ryan Anderson continued his season-long shooting success by hitting 8-of-13 3-point attempts and scoring 28 points against Toronto. Anderson leads the NBA with 143 3-point baskets after making 134 all last season. Anderson’s eight 3-pointers are the second-most by an Orlando player this season – Jason Richardson made nine in a contest against Milwaukee. Anderson has made 18 3-pointers over the last three games. Orlando hit 15 3-pointers against Toronto, two shy of its season-high accomplished twice, including in January’s win over New York. Anderson had 30 points and seven 3-pointers in that contest.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (25-25): Anthony had 28 points and 12 rebounds in Monday’s victory over the Milwaukee Bucks but injured his groin late in the contest. That is the same ailment that caused him to miss seven consecutive games in January. With Stoudemire out indefinitely, the Knicks will need more scoring from Anthony, who hadn’t topped 20 points since March 12 before the big outing against the Bucks. If Anthony can’t play against Milwaukee, New York will hope players like J.R. Smith and Steve Novak are on their games. Smith was just 1-of-10 from 3-point range against the Bucks. Baron Davis started for Lin against Milwaukee and had 13 points but also committed nine turnovers.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Magic are 13-6 in their last 19 visits to Madison Square Garden, including the 102-93 victory on January 16.
2. Orlando center Dwight Howard had just eight points in January’s contest, one of his two single-digit outings of the season.
3. The Knicks are allowing just 86 points per game in Woodson’s eight games as coach.