The Knicks’ magic ran out against the Rolled Magic.
A third quarter of hell doomed the Knicks when their Fantasyland winning streak was snatched by an injury-destroyed Orlando team, 107-89, in front of 4,000 Amway Center fans Wednesday night.
The Knicks (14-16) missed 15 consecutive shots in the second half to ruin their chances of moving to a .500 record. They scored just 33 points in the second half.
Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley, the new electric point / bench guard combined, were disastrous, combining to shoot 2-on-22.
Rose, 32, killed the Knicks with his second straight night (1 vs. 10, four points), without the spark and firing of his first Knicks games.
Rose’s lousy night was part of an anemic display on the Knicks’ bench, which had been on fire.
Meanwhile, Quickley spent his worst night as a professional, losing his first 11 shots and finishing 1 on 12.
After being schooled by the Knicks in the first half, the Magic beat them, 30-14, in the third quarter. Terrence Ross (30 points) crashed into a hat-trick in the final seconds to give the Magic an 83-70 lead after three quarters.
Orlando beat the Knicks to lose long balls and rebounds. The Magic, the NBA’s least accurate shooting team, ran out 16 of 34 triples.
The Knicks were icy and shot 38.4% overall.
Julius Randle, on a night of 44 points, got numbers (25 points), but was unable to lead the Knicks into the second half, when they scored 16 points in the first 16 minutes of the half.
The Knicks eventually lost injured center Mitchell Robinson, his edge protection and his attacks. He will be out at least until mid-March after hand surgery.
Interestingly, RJ Barrett, who had a correct match, didn’t play the fourth quarter until it was 3:35, when the match was already a blast.
The Knicks’ three-game winning streak against the Wizards, Rockets and Hawks deserved a warning. The Wizards were without superstar Bradley Beal (rest). The Rockets played without their two best players, Christian Wood and Victor Oladipo. And the Hawks, who are expected to be playoff contenders, have suffered a lot of injuries and are 11-16.
Against the Magic, the Knicks jumped to a 32-23 lead after a quarter, when Randle hit five of his first six shots and three of his triples. He smiled behind everyone, perhaps still surprised by his warm hand all season.
The smile erased his face. Orlando warmed up from the 3-point range, getting 8 of 18 treys and closed out 56-53 at halftime despite Randle’s 17 points in the first half.