Magic at Knicks
The Orlando Magic are making a charge in the Eastern Conference playoff race largely on an impressive run of success on the road. They will try to build off a big victory in Toronto and extend their road winning streak to five games when they visit the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
"I thought we played hard, with a ton of intensity, and we had good purpose of play," Orlando coach Steve Clifford told reporters after Sunday's 113-98 triumph over the Raptors, the Magic's eighth win in their last 10 games overall. Terrence Ross scored 28 points and All-Star Nikola Vucevic added 23 and 12 rebounds as Orlando moved within one game of Charlotte for the eighth and final playoff spot entering Monday's action. The Knicks lost a franchise-record 18 in a row at home before an impressive 130-118 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. Damyean Dotson stayed hot with a career-high eight 3-pointers en route to a season-high 27 points as New York picked up its second win in the last three contests following an 18-game slide.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Florida (Orlando), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE MAGIC (28-33): Orlando won its final five games before the All-Star break and was disappointed to lose the first game following the intermission at home against the lowly Chicago Bulls. "This is the part of the season where you've got to move forward, no matter what," Ross told reporters of the quick bounce-back effort in Toronto. "You can't let that determine how you start the next game. You've got to make sure that you're ready to play." Ross scored 22 points to lead the Magic to a 26-point win in their first visit to Madison Square Garden on Nov. 11.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (12-48): Dotson is 13-for-22 from beyond the arc over his last two games while averaging 23.5 points. "I think he's a very good shooter but he could potentially become a great shooter," coach David Fizdale told reporters. "I think that has a lot of value. And to have a guy that plays that hard with that kind of motor, you could see what it does for other teams when you've got the guys like [JJ] Redick, [Kyle] Korver, people like that that can really fly without the ball and make shots, it adds a whole other dimension to your team." Fellow starting guard Dennis Smith Jr. notched his first double-double in a Knicks uniform with 19 points and 13 assists against the Spurs.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Knicks C DeAndre Jordan (ankle) missed Sunday's game and is day-to-day.
2. Magic PF Aaron Gordon scored 31 points on 13-of-17 shooting in the most recent meeting, a 131-117 win for Orlando at home Nov. 18.
3. New York PG Emmanuel Mudiay has 34 points in 45 minutes off the bench in two games since returning from a shoulder injury.