In his second game since returning from a groin strain, Mobley emerged from the bench to score a season-high 34 points and make a pair of clutch plays in the final minute as the Orlando Magic rallied for a 104-98 victory over the Knicks.
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Mobley, who had missed the previous nine games before his return Wednesday, wrapped up the game with five free throws in the last 17 seconds but made an even greater impact earlier.
With Orlando clinging to a 97-96 lead, teammate Steve Francis missed a jumper, but the 6-4 Mobley chased down the long rebound.
He promptly returned the ball to Francis, who was fouled and made both free throws for a three-point edge with 19 seconds left.
"That was huge," Mobley said of the rebound. "I got that from watching Steve (Francis). He does that all the time."
Mobley then stole New York's ensuing inbounds pass at halfcourt. After getting fouled, he began his string of five straight free throws to close it out.
"I thought I could get it over the top of him," said Jamal Crawford, who inbounded the ball. "I didn't want to jump and commit myself. I just threw it away. That's why they call him 'Cat.' He's pretty quick."
"It was timing, I just watched his eyes," Mobley said.
Mobley scored 21 points in the second half, including seven during a 16-1 run when the Magic turned a 12-point deficit into a 69-66 lead. He made all six of Orlando's 3-pointers, his last midway through the fourth period to give his club an 87-86 lead.
"I kept telling the guards to get up on him," Knicks coach Lenny Wilkens said. "He's the type of guy that's going to catch it and shoot it."
Francis scored 26 points and Grant Hill chipped in 21 for the Magic, who are the early front-runners in the Southeast Division, leading the Miami Heat by percentage points.
Stephon Marbury scored 28 points for New York but missed three free throws and a 3-pointer in the final minute.
The errant free throws were especially uncharacteristic of Marbury, who had made 49 of his last 50 from the line entering the game.
"I didn't think I was going to miss, but it happens," he said. "I just have to rebound from it."
Crawford scored 23 points and Tim Thomas added 18 for the Knicks, who had a three-game streak snapped after owning a 14-point lead early in the second half.
Marbury had 13 points in a 21-8 run that gave the Knicks a 59-49 halftime lead, tipping in a miss at the buzzer.
After Crawford's jumper two minutes into the third quarter gave New York a 67-53 lead, Orlando combined its offensive resurgence with some defense, abandoning its ineffective man-to-man for a zone that seemed to leave the Knicks foundering.
"Going into the zone really helped us," Magic coach Johnny Davis said. "Initially, they were just driving right by us. We went into the zone and it kind of disrupted their rhythm."