After enduring 16 straight losses, the New York Knicks aren't interested in volunteering for more, no matter the reward. The Knicks, who own the worst record in the NBA, aim for a season-high third straight victory when they host the Orlando Magic on Friday. The Magic have dropped three straight and nine of their last 11.
The Knicks are in the midst of a lost season and could easily turn their focus toward securing a high draft pick they could use to build around star forward Carmelo Anthony, but Anthony, for one, wants no part of tanking. "I don't know how to have that mindset," Anthony told reporters. "Having that mindset as a basketball player, as a competitor, it's just hard to do unless you don't care about the game. … To say that we're going to go out there and we want to lose a basketball game, I think that's a bad mentality to have." Despite its recent slide, Orlando isn't far from playoff contention, just 4 1/2 games out of eighth place in the East.
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ABOUT THE MAGIC (15-30): Orlando has struggled to get stops lately, allowing 100 points or more in a season-high seven straight games. The Magic have allowed their last two opponents to torch them, falling 127-99 to Oklahoma City on Sunday before being beaten 128-118 at Detroit on Wednesday. Orlando needs to step it up defensively in order to stop wasting strong offensive efforts from leading scorer Nikola Vucevic (19 points, 11.1 rebounds) and guard Victor Oladipo (16.5 points), who are both averaging more than 23 points over the past five games.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (7-36): New York has won consecutive games for the first time since claiming its second and third games of the season. The winning streak has coincided with rookie Langston Galloway (11.8 points) moving into the starting lineup and averaging 16 points over the past two contests. Anthony (24 points, 6.7 rebounds) has put up big numbers in three games since returning from a six-game absence, including 27 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday's 98-91 win at Philadelphia.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. New York has won eight of the last 10 in the series, but Orlando claimed the first meeting this season, 97-95 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 12.
2. The Magic are 11-2 when scoring 100 or more points, while the Knicks are 0-22 when allowing triple digits.
3. Anthony (20,751) needs 40 points to pass David Robinson for 36th on the NBA's all-time scoring list.