The Orlando Magic walked into Madison Square Garden looking for their first win of the season, and they got it in a game that kept flipping until the fourth quarter finally broke New York’s resistance.
Orlando outlasted the defending-champion Knicks 111-102 after digging out of multiple double-digit deficits. It was one of the two winless Eastern Conference teams in the building entering Sunday, and the Magic were the ones who left with their first victory.
The turnaround came with Franz Wagner taking over late. Through three quarters, the scoring line looked rough: two points on 1-of-10 shooting.
Even so, he still found ways to help with defense, rebounding and passing while the Knicks threw a crowd at him possession after possession. Then the fourth quarter hit, and Wagner flipped the game.
He poured in 21 points in the final period, going 8-of-13 from the field, with every made basket coming at the rim. By the end, he was one assist short of a triple-double with 13 rebounds and nine assists in 37 minutes.
Orlando needed that surge because the offense started slowly, even with open chances for Desmond Bane, Wendell Carter Jr. and Wagner. The Magic didn’t get their first made field goal until 7:12 remained in the opening quarter, when Anthony Black finally got them on the board.
That was the start of a bench-driven swing. After falling into a 12-point hole quickly, Orlando’s reserves changed the whole feel of the game.
The second unit supplied 28 of the team’s 48 first-half points and finished with 47 overall. Black, Tristan da Silva, Jamal Cain and even Nikola Vucevic all played a part in steadying things before Wagner’s fourth-quarter explosion put the game away.
Black’s return mattered right away. Orlando entered Sunday ranked 29th in bench points per 100 possessions, and part of that was because Black had missed all of preseason and the first two games with an ankle injury.
There was no rust on him once he got in. He scored six straight points after entering the game, then finished with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and 5-of-7 from 3-point range in 26 minutes.
He looked comfortable taking shots in rhythm, and he moved like a player whose ankle was no longer an issue.
The Magic’s perimeter shooting also looked a lot more like what they showed in preseason. After entering Sunday third in 3-point attempt rate and No. 13 in 3-point attempts per 100 possessions, they had been stuck at 26.6 percent from deep through their first two games.
That changed against New York. Orlando hit 18 threes, doubling the Knicks’ total of nine, and da Silva was a major reason why.
He made five of nine from beyond the arc and finished with 19 points.
Da Silva’s green light was already a storyline in preseason, when first-year head coach Sean Sweeney made it clear he wanted him firing away. That confidence showed again in one of the league’s most recognizable arenas. After making four threes in the opener and going 1-for-7 against Minnesota, da Silva delivered a clean shooting night at a time when Orlando needed it.
With Paolo Banchero out for at least a month because of a high ankle sprain, the Magic are leaning on Wagner and looking for more from the supporting cast. Sunday gave them both: a star who owned the closing stretch and a bench that helped keep the game alive long enough for that finish to matter.
In Other News...
Knicks Could Catch A Big Break In The Karl-Anthony Towns Race
The market around Karl-Anthony Towns could be shifting in a way that benefits the Knicks, even before the front office gets to the real negotiating stage. Golden State is reportedly exploring trades for Kristaps Porzingis, a move tied to health concerns that have cast doubt on whether he will return to basketball at all, and any deal for him would eat into the Warriors salary-cap flexibility.
For New York, that matters because every dollar a rival team loses in maneuvering room can change the shape of a free-agency chase. If the Warriors are forced to trim their options, their ability to put together a competitive offer for Towns could take a hit, which would leave the Knicks in a stronger position to press their own case when the bidding gets serious. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Already Have A Worrying Early Problem Around Their Stars
The Knicks season-opening buzz has run into an early snag, and it showed again in the 111-102 loss to Orlando, their third straight defeat to start the year. Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby gave them enough star power to hang around after a strong start, but the margins that usually decide games have been working against New York, especially from deep and with the second unit offering too little support.
Orlando kept applying pressure behind Franz Wagner and Desmond Bane, who combined for 45 points, and the Knicks never fully found the counterpunch. For a team built around high-end talent, the early concern is less about whether the stars can produce and more about whether the rest of the roster is doing enough to keep those efforts from being wasted. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Watch An East Rival Face A Brutal New Injury Scare
The Knicks latest win came with an unsettling scene for one of the Easts rising challengers, as Orlando guard Jalen Suggs went down in the fourth quarter with a right knee injury. He had to be helped to the locker room and appeared to have trouble putting weight on the knee, turning a routine late-game stretch into a nervous moment for the Magic.
For New York, it was a reminder of how quickly the race in the conference can shift around health as much as form. Orlando had already been dealing with the recent ankle injury to star forward Paolo Banchero, and now the burden on a team trying to keep pace in the East looks even heavier while the Knicks continue to monitor a rival they may well see again. [Read more 🡒]