The Knicks responded to Wednesday’s 108-100 loss against the Atlanta Hawks with a 100-91 win at the Orlando Magic where Jalen Brunson‘s team-high 31 points and Karl-Anthony Towns‘ 22-point, 22-rebound double-double helped New York bounce back.
Takeaways
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Only outdone by Mo Wagner, who dropped a game-high 32, Brunson’s eighth 30-point effort of the season was also his 61st as a Knick. He ties Walt “Clyde” Frazier for eighth most 30 balls in franchise history after doing so on 8-of-18 shooting and a 4-for-8 clip from deep while adding five assists and three rebounds over 38 minutes.
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Twenty-two was the magic number for Towns, whose 22nd double-double in 24 games as a Knick was emphatic. Towns reiterated the grittiness and toughness that he has shown throughout his early tenure in New York, clapping back at a physical Magic defense all evening.
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Orlando was without top player Paolo Banchero, who has been out since Halloween with a torn right oblique, and Wagner gave the Knicks’ defense fits on 10-of-15 shooting in 26 minutes. New York allowing a career-best 30-point game to an opposing player — off the bench, no less — is surely something that Tom Thibodeau will not be happy with, and the Magic’s lack of star power could have been primed for a bigger win, but the Knicks ultimately got the job done.
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Along those lines, New York avoided back-to-back losses once again. Road defeats Nov. 4 (109-97, Houston Rockets) and 6 (121-116, Hawks) remain the only such stretch on the season. While doing so, the Knicks (16-10, .615) moved past the Magic (17-11, .607) for third place in the Eastern Conference standings, trailing only the 21-5 Boston Celtics and 22-4 Cleveland Cavaliers. A lot of games remain, but New York is chipping away with hopes to soon be knocking on the door.
Who’s the MVP?
Brunson, whose 10 fourth-quarter points fended off Orlando’s waves of comeback attempts.
Highlights
What’s next
The Knicks’ 9:30 p.m. game Thursday at the Timberwolves is the first since New York’s Oct. 2 trade that sent Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota for Towns.
