Knicks at Magic
Two teams looking for something positive to happen to point them in the right direction meet when the New York Knicks visit the Orlando Magic on Monday. The Knicks won back-to-back games only once this season and have yet to find consistent scoring support behind Carmelo Anthony, the league’s second-leading scorer. Orlando lost 10 of its last 12 and dropped the first two of a six-game homestand to Utah and Sacramento and also lost at New York by 38 points on Dec. 6.
The Knicks looked to be starting to build some steam with consecutive blowout wins over Brooklyn and Orlando earlier this month, but have won only three of eight since. The Magic might go inside more than normal against New York, which was outscored 60-28 in the paint during the eight-point loss to Memphis on Saturday. Arron Afflalo leads Orlando’s offense and the finally-healthy Tobias Harris has averaged 17.5 points the last two contests.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE KNICKS (8-18): Anthony is posting 26.5 points and nine rebounds per game while the team has been searching for a rhythm, especially on the offensive end. “It’s a sense of inconsistency right now,” Anthony told reporters. “We have spurts where we’re playing great basketball and then we just have spurts where we’re just dead out there.” Andrea Bargnani (14.3) is the only other player averaging more than 11.2 points although Tim Hardaway Jr. (12.8 over the last four games) is starting to become a factor.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (8-19): Afflalo returned after missing one game with an illness to score 26 in the 105-100 loss to Sacramento on Saturday when the Magic turned the ball over 18 times. Harris remained in the starting lineup and rookie Victor Oladipo began the game on the bench before contributing 12 points in 21 minutes. Orlando’s 7-0 center Nikola Vucevic’s offensive numbers have dipped since he returned from an ankle injury, averaging 9.8 points while shooting 40.3 percent in six games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Knicks have won the last seven meetings – three of them at Orlando.
2. New York has dropped to 29th in the league in rebounds per contest (38.6).
3. The Magic are 0-13 when opponents have scored at least 100 points.