Knicks at Magic
The New York Knicks had a four-game winning streak come to an end with a poor offensive performance on Monday and will look to bounce back quickly when they visit the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. The Knicks scored a season-low 78 points in dropping the first leg of their Florida trip at Miami.
Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis continue to be a dynamic combination up front but New York is struggling to get more out of its supporting cast. The reserves were outscored 30-10 in the 95-78 setback on Monday after putting up 34 points in a win at Houston on Saturday. The Magic could use a visit from a poor-shooting team after allowing Cleveland to go off at 53.1 percent in a 117-103 loss at the Cavaliers on Monday. “If we want to be a great team, we’ve got to be better than this,” Orlando forward Tobias Harris told reporters. “We have to trust each other offensively and defensively. It was just not a good effort and we have to be better.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE KNICKS (8-7): Porzingis continued to add to his list of impressive performances with 20 points and 14 rebounds on Monday but was not satisfied with a 7-of-18 effort from the field. "I got numbers but at important moments I missed a lot of shots," Porzingis told reporters. The 7-3 Latvian is 8-of-12 from 3-point range over the last four games and recorded three double-doubles in that span to bring his total to seven in 12 games this month.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (6-8): Orlando has dropped three of its last four games, and slow starts in the first and third quarters have first-year coach Scott Skiles on the verge of mixing things up. “Well, it’s time to change the lineup,” Skiles told reporters. “That’s pretty much the reality that we’ve got to face here in the next 48 hours before we play again. … We’ve got to see if we can find something else that works.” The Magic bench outscored the starters 59-44 on Monday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Magic PG Elfrid Payton totaled seven points on 3-of-19 shooting in the last two games.
2. Anthony is 4-of-19 from 3-point range over the last five contests.
3. The teams split four meetings last season, with each decided by seven points or fewer.