Magic at Knicks
The New York Knicks look to end a four-game slide as they begin a difficult January schedule, which includes 17 contests, Monday night against the visiting Orlando Magic. The Knicks allowed James Harden to score 53 points in a 129-122 loss at Houston on Saturday to complete a winless three-game road trip and fell under .500 at 16-17 for the first time since late November.
“It’s bothersome we lost games, but we’re still right there,” New York forward Carmelo Anthony, who left the last game with a sore knee, told the New York Post. “Nobody is separating themselves right now. We’re still in the thick of things - four, five teams around the same area. You take a positive out of that. It’s going to be on us this month.” Derrick Rose led the way with 19 points as the Knicks captured a 106-95 decision over Orlando on Dec. 22. Orlando continued its see-saw season with a 117-104 setback at Indiana on Sunday after allowing 120 in a loss to Charlotte on Wednesday. “We just weren’t aggressive enough in the defensive end and that hurt us,” Magic center Nikola Vucevic told reporters after Sunday’s loss. “I thought offensively we had some good stretches, but our defense was never there.”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Florida (Orlando), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE MAGIC (15-20): Leading scorer Evan Fournier (17.8), who could miss his fifth straight game with a heel injury, knows the Magic’s biggest problem. “There’s no doubt we have to be more consistent,” Fournier told the Orlando Sentinel. “At some point in the season, we were one of the best teams defensively. We were struggling to score the ball. Now it’s kind of the opposite.” Serge Ibaka led the way the last six games, averaging 19.2 points and 8.2 rebounds, while Vucevic scored 18 and grabbed 11 boards Sunday for his team-best 16th double-double.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (16-17): Anthony, who averages 21.9 points to pace the team, will likely be a game-time decision while second-leading scorer Kristaps Porzingis (20.1 points, 7.9 rebounds) is also questionable due to an Achilles injury. Guard Courtney Lee (wrist) missed the last three games and former Magic forward Kyle O’Quinn - who had 14 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks in the first meeting this season - is questionable after sitting out Saturday’s game because of illness. Rose is averaging 17.7 points overall after scoring at least 20 in four consecutive games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Orlando PG Elfrid Payton went 3-of-18 from the field in the last two games after draining 17-of-26 shots in the previous two.
2. The Knicks not only play a lot of games in January, they are scheduled for four sets of back-to-backs in a two-week period that starts Friday.
3. The Magic play 11 of their 16 contests in January on the road, including a six-game road trip that starts Jan. 8 against the Los Angeles Lakers.