The final score did not reflect how much the Knicks BLEW OUT the Magic by — NY took control of the game midway through the 1st quarter and demolished Orlando — who came in as one of the hottest teams in the NBA.
NY led by 22 points in the 2nd quarter, by 30 pts in the 3rd quarter, by 34 points in the 4th quarter, and by 29 pts with 4:35 left.
Orlando made a late run against Knick reserves, even hitting a 3 at the buzzer after the Knicks had purposely run out the clock and not taken a shot on their final possession in a show of sportsmanship.
On a Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Karl-Anthony Towns led NY with 23 pts and 15 rebounds, Jalen Brunson had 21 pts, Mikal Bridges had 19 pts, OG Anunoby had 18 pts, Josh Hart had a triple-double of 11 pts, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists, and Miles McBride was a killer off the bench with 18 pts on 5-7 shooting from 3.
It was an in-season tournament game; NY clinches a berth in the final group of 8 teams, and will play Atlanta in the 1st round.
“I liked the way we started the game, setting a defensive tone.” said coach Tom Thibodeau afterwards. “OG and Mikal were phenomenal defensively to get us going. And I thought we played very unselfishly — guys played together they created good shots for each other; they’re a great defensive team so that was important. I thought our bench gave us a big lift when they went in there as well. I thought Deuce and Cam brought a lot of energy to the game. And we needed that.”
NY improves to 13-8; Orlando drops to 15-8.
1. Knicks Take Control Midway thru 1st Quarter
NY used a STIFLING defense with steals and interceptions, and their now vaunted offense — NY is now rated #1 in the league in offensive efficiency — to rip the Magic apart.
The Magic were without Paolo Banchero; NY is still without Precious Achiuwa and Mitchell Robinson.
The Magic jumped out to a 9-2 lead but then the Knicks started digging in on defense — Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart were everywhere, intercepting passes and stripping the ball for steals — and the NY offense got in rhythm.
— Strickland Vids (@StricklandVids) December 4, 2024
“Josh Hart doesn’t just come to play he plays to win,” noted NBA Analyst Ross Kreines. “Josh beats you on the glass with his effort and wanting it more, 50/50 balls become 20/80 balls, will find the open man, defends hard, relentless going to the rim, unselfish, fearless and doesn’t need plays called for him to do it.”
Brunson hit a floater, OG hit a 3, Karl-Anthony Towns powered inside for consecutive buckets and late in the quarter Deuce McBride came in and hit back-to-back 3’s (the later one a 4-pt play) and NY was up 36-27.
KAT was in his BAG with this pass pic.twitter.com/IqNQxW20kL
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) December 4, 2024
2. Game Gets Chippy
Orlando, coached by Jamahl Mosley, plays a very physical game and is considered one of the best defensive teams in the league. They hammered down on defense and the game got chippy, with Moritz Wagner getting Very Very physical with KAT, and KAT pushing back.
KAT with the hesi fadeaway! 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/GBe80hD3ro
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) December 4, 2024
Jalen Suggs was playing Jalen Brunson very physically, but Brunson was able to drive and score against him anyway.
“I think overall the physicality of the game is changing; and I think that’s good,” said Thibs. “I think it’s good there’s more of a balance to it — it will bring the best out in the competition. And that’s what people want to see; they want to see people compete. Karl is a physical guy. As long as it’s consistent and it’s the same way for both teams I don’t mind that at all. Matter of fact I like it.”
The Knick passing was so crisp that they were able to pick apart Orlando’s physical defense, and kept pouring on the points. An OG Anunoby 3 with a minute left in the quarter put NY up by 22.
Josh Hart inbounded a full-court quarterback pass to KAT as the half was closing — KAT couldn’t handle it but it serendipitously bounded out to Mikal Bridges who hit an 18 footer on the run at the buzzer and NY led by 20 at the half.
End-to-end at MSG! https://t.co/9yU5qcxGFF pic.twitter.com/LgTsVHAjao
— NBA (@NBA) December 4, 2024
3. NY Ups Lead in the 3rd
The Knicks did not let up in the 3rd quarter — they kept attacking and up’ed their lead to 34 points.
Anunoby was hitting 3’s, Mikal Bridges was hitting 3’s, Brunson was doing his thing, KAT was scoring inside and out, and Hart was everywhere — the Knicks were freewheeling against one of the better teams in the NBA.
Jalen Brunson with the finish & the foul ✨ pic.twitter.com/SnmUWzv9GN
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 4, 2024
Franz Wagner (30 pts on 10-22 shooting) was putting up points for Orlando, as was Cole Anthony (10 pts) off the bench.
4. Knicks Cruise in 4th
Karl-Anthony Towns started the 4th quarter with a 3, and then Miles McBride went to work — with a steal for an OG Anunoby dunk, and then back-to-back 3’s — and NY was up 119-90 with 4:35 left.
Thibs emptied the bench with just under 3 minutes left — bringing in Ariel Hukporti, Pacome Dadiet, Tyler Kolek, and Matt Ryan to play alongside Jericho Sims.
Orlando made their run to cut the lead down to 15 points on a 3 at the buzzer by Tristan da Silva (after NY had chosen not to take a shot on their final possession for sportsmanship). This was an In-Season Tournament game — Orlando (3-1 in tournament-designated games) was guaranteed a spot in the tourney as long as they did not lose by more than 37 points, otherwise Boston (also 3-1) would go in instead. The Knicks were 4-0 in tournament-designated games.
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