After Miami the day before (defeat), the Knicks ended their journey in Florida with a “back-to-back” at Orlando. Not necessarily a health walk in perspective, when you know that the Magic loves to play spoilsport since the beginning of this season.
This was also confirmed last night, since the teammates of Paolo Banchero (21 points, 6 rebounds) have made miserable new Yorkforced to bow logically at the finish (111-106) despite a big Quentin Grimes (25 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) to guide them and compensate for the skill problems of his teammates, in the absence of Jalen Brunson.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
— Orlando did not shake. Definitely, this young Magic team continues to seduce and grow over time. Thus, she could have lost her footing by squandering a 19-point lead in the third quarter and she could also have collapsed by spoiling a new gap – of around ten points this time – in the fourth. Except that, in the “money time”, the Paolo Banchero, Cole Anthony, Markelle Fultz, Moe Wagner and other Wendell Carter Jr. or Gary Harris were cold as blades, just to repel the New York players, eye-catching , with their shots and free throws.
— New York pays for its sluggish start. It took a good half for the Knicks to get going. No doubt the “back-to-back” weighed on their legs, since they had a lot of trouble converting their shots to start the game and they quickly let the Magic take control and widen the gap. . In the second half, in the wake of Quentin Grimes, things got better and there was more suspense, but Tom Thibodeau’s men came from too far and it showed, because they ran out of juice. to make the last efforts necessary for the final victory.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Quentin Grimes. Neither more nor less than the savior of the Knicks, the one who changed the course of the game in the third quarter. At +19 in favor of the Magic, he effectively made himself up as a superhero—with the help of Immanuel Quickley—to boost a 23-4 and bring the team back to a tie, when he was already the only one to float for New York in the first half. Between external success and aggressiveness towards the circle, all coupled with some good shifts and a solid defense, Grimes delivered a full match which will not fail to restore his confidence after more complicated last days (in addition to his 22 points in Miami).
✅ Paolo Banchero. Great performance from the Magic rookie, involved and valuable on both sides of the floor, in addition to being perfect to start his team in this part, while being decisive at the end of the match to ensure Orlando’s success. On the offensive side, he continues to prove that he has all the qualities to become one of the benchmarks for his position in the NBA and, on the defensive side, we can see interesting flashes that lead us to believe that he can reach a more than satisfactory level. In case some could still doubt it, Jamahl Mosley’s men do indeed hold their “franchise player” of the future.
⛔ Julius Randle. If RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson or even the New York bench did not appeal either, not to say that they were bad, we decided instead to retain the disappointing performance of the Knicks All-Star. Sportingly on the one hand, because despite a blackened stats sheet, he sprayed a lot on the shoot (7/20, including 2/9 from 3-pointers) at times that mattered. In terms of state of mind on the other hand, because Randle’s frustration was punished with a technical foul at the break and he nearly came to blows with Immanuel Quickley, who was trying to calm him down, before return to the changing rooms. Anything but a good leader.
⛔ Franz Wagner’s injury. The Magic won the game, but the Magic also lost their starting winger to injury during the game. Hit in the left ankle, for a sprain, the German did not come back into play as the crucial fourth quarter unfolded. We just have to wait for further examinations to find out more about its unavailability…
THE FOLLOWING
Orlando (31-43) : reception from Brooklyn, on the night of Sunday to Monday (00:00).
New York (42-33) : reception from Houston, on the night of Monday to Tuesday (01:30).
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