Knicks-Magic Preview

By MATT BECKER
Posted Apr 04 2012 6:34PM

Although the New York Knicks are coming off a particularly discouraging loss, they've shown they can win despite injuries to two of their best players.

The Orlando Magic have been unable to overcome an injury to their star.

The Magic, who are hoping to have Dwight Howard back, try to avoid losing five straight games for the first time in five years when they host the Knicks on Thursday night.

Howard sat out the last two games with back spasms and not surprisingly, Orlando (32-22) struggled mightily with its interior defense. In Tuesday's 102-95 loss to Detroit, the Magic yielded 56 points in the paint - 19.1 more than their season average - and allowed the Pistons to shoot an opponent season-best 56.6 percent.

That broke Denver's record from just two days earlier, when the Nuggets shot 55.6 percent in handing Orlando a 104-101 defeat.

"We won't contend for nothing if we don't play defense," said Glen Davis, who had a career-high 31 points Tuesday in his second game starting in Howard's place. "You might as well cancel Christmas."

While Howard's injury is certainly the biggest blow to Orlando, the Magic were also without their next two leading scorers Tuesday - Ryan Anderson (sprained right ankle) and Jameer Nelson (sore left calf). Howard and Nelson are both game-time decisions for Thursday, but Anderson has already been ruled out.

Howard's absence obviously makes a big difference, but coach Stan Van Gundy is quick to point out his team was having problems even before the three-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year was sidelined.

The Magic, who are one of the league's top defensive teams at 92.7 points per game, have surrendered at least 100 in losing each of their last four after allowing teams to reach the century mark in four of their previous 25. Orlando, which hasn't lost five straight games since Jan. 12-20, 2007, is 4-9 when giving up 100 points.

"We don't guard when Dwight is on the floor and we don't guard when Dwight is off the floor," Van Gundy said. "If that doesn't change in the next three weeks, we aren't going anywhere."

Orlando's skid started with a 108-86 loss to New York (27-27) at Madison Square Garden on March 28. That was the Knicks' second game without Amare Stoudemire (back) and Jeremy Lin (left knee), and while Stoudemire could be back in another week, Lin is likely done for the season.

New York is 3-2 since both players were sidelined, but the team certainly believes it should have won four. The Knicks squandered a 17-point, late third-quarter lead Tuesday in a 112-104 loss at Indiana..

"We have to go back, regroup, and I have to help them," interim coach Mike Woodson said. "It was a winnable game."

Carmelo Anthony played power forward for Stoudemire and was too quick for Indiana's front line, finishing with a season-high 39 points and 10 rebounds.

Anthony is carrying New York's offense in the absence of Stoudemire and Lin, averaging 29.4 points on 50.0 percent shooting in the last five games after averaging 14.0 points on 39.4 percent shooting in the previous seven. He had 25 points against the Magic last week, while Iman Shumpert also scored 25 for the Knicks, who shot 50.6 percent.

Orlando's starters were limited to 42 points in that game with Nelson finishing with 17, Howard 12 and Anderson three.

The Magic defeated the Knicks 102-93 at MSG on Jan. 16 behind a career-best 30 points from Anderson, and have won the last four meetings in Orlando.

Anthony leads Knicks past reeling Magic 96-80

By KYLE HIGHTOWER
Posted Apr 05 2012 11:34PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) The New York Knicks seemed to be the NBA's resident team-in-turmoil last month, stumbling through coaching issues and their second prolonged losing streak of the season.

In their second matchup with Orlando in just over a week, it was the Knicks that took advantage of a team caught up in off-court drama for a 96-80 win over the Magic on Thursday night.

Carmelo Anthony scored 19 points, and Tyson Chandler had 12 points and 12 rebounds to lead New York past a Magic team that appears to be sliding headfirst back into the soap opera that has trailed center Dwight Howard all season.

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy on Thursday morning said he had heard from top team management officials that Howard has previously requested that he be fired. Affected or not by the comments, Howard and his teammates trudged their way to a season-high fifth straight defeat.

"My job security is not what is important right now," Van Gundy said after the loss, downplaying his earlier comments. "What Dwight wants is not what's important right now. What's important is we focus on getting better as a team. It's not like we've played five awful games in a row."

Earlier in the day, Howard denied that he's made such demands of the Magic brass, echoing previous comments throughout the season. After the game he brushed aside any mention of a rift between him and his coach.

"I'm not gonna talk about that," Howard said of the incident.

Howard's game was off throughout the night and he finished with only eight points and eight rebounds. Jason Richardson scored 16 points and Glen Davis 15 to lead Orlando.

Lost in all the Magic malaise, though, might have been one of the Knicks' better recent efforts, and definitely one of the best since they lost both center Amare Stoudemire and point guard Jeremy Lin to injury six games ago.

Lin is out for the season and Stoudemire remained sidelined Thursday, but Chandler and the New York reserves filled in the gaps in picking apart the Magic for the second straight meeting. J.R. Smith and Toney Douglas each added 15 points for the Knicks, who won for just the third time in their last 13 visits to Orlando. New York also hit 13 3-pointers.

"It was a total team effort," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "We didn't collapse like we did in the fourth quarter (in a loss Tuesday to Indiana), going in up (17). I've got to say that they learned something from the film session. They rebounded well. To come back in here and beat this team ... I think Stan has done an excellent job over the years that he's been here.

"And this year he's had a good season with this ball club. It's a big win for our team."

The Knicks improved to 28-27 and more importantly continue to hold onto the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Douglas, who has spent a great deal of time on the Knicks' bench this season, said it felt good to have the kind of game he knows he is capable of. He had his highest scoring output since December.

"We're not a real big team in the second unit, so we gotta get up and push the ball, create and kick," Douglas said. "...It means a lot. Every game is important, especially in our conference. We blew a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter against Indiana. So we played all four quarters tonight. That was the key."

With the Magic's morning drama casting a definite pall over the game, the Knicks controlled the action throughout. After handing the Magic a 22-point loss seven days ago, New York again was the aggressor and took a 17-point lead into the fourth quarter.

The Knicks built their lead with shot after shot from beyond the arc and with easy buckets underneath.

Chandler also rendered Howard ineffective on the defensive end, holding the Magic's star center scoreless until a dunk with 3 seconds left in the third quarter.

Orlando never really threatened in the fourth.

The Knicks shot 48 percent (38 for 78), marking the fifth straight game the Magic have allowed an opponent to shoot at least 47 percent from the floor.

"I think we're able to take (Howard) out of his comfort zone and make things difficult for him by not giving him easy shots," Chandler said. "The loss in Indiana was a disappointing loss. We feel like we should have won. I am proud of my teammates about how we responded."

The Magic, who fell to 32-23, also dropped to sixth place in the East.

Magic point guard Jameer Nelson said the focus going forward will be to ignore all issues that don't pertain to what's happening on the court. For what it was worth, Nelson also took a moment to offer a vote of confidence for Van Gundy.

"We've been handling adversity all season," he said. "This is just another chapter of it. This is about us players and management sticking together. I love Stan as a coach. Since he's been here he's helped my career. Helped tremendously. He's a great person."

NOTES: Magic F Hedo Turkoglu left the game with 2:14 left in the second quarter after getting inadvertently hit across the right eye while trying to contest a shot by Anthony. He got three stitches and did not return. .. Orlando F Ryan Anderson missed his second straight game with a sprained right ankle. ...Stoudemire was out for his sixth consecutive game with a bulging disc in his back. ...The Knicks improved to 4-3 since Stoudemire and Lin (knee) were sidelined with injuries.

Notebook: Knicks 96, Magic 80

Posted Friday April 6, 2012 12:05AM

By Dick Scanlon, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Seven Knicks combined to make 13 3-point shots and Tyson Chandler outplayed Dwight Howard in the middle to help New York hand the Orlando Magic their fifth straight loss, 96-80.

Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 19 points for the Knicks, and Toney Douglas and J.R. Smith came of the bench with 15 points each. New York led by double figures throughout the second half.

Howard did not score until the final seconds of the third quarter and finished with eight points, eight rebounds and five turnovers.

QUOTABLE: "Honestly, I felt like we were just the aggressors tonight. Once we took them out of their comfort zone, maybe some doubt crept into their minds because of all the turmoil."
-- Chandler.

THE STAT: The Knicks, who came in ranked 27th in the NBA in 3-point shooting at 35.1 percent, made 13-of-25 (52 percent).

TURNING POINT: The Magic never recovered from a 3 1/2-minute stretch early in the second quarter in which Smith and Steve Novak made two 3-pointers each without missing, stretching a one-point Knicks lead to 11.

HOT: Magic opponents have been hot during their losing streak, shooting a combined 52 percent.

QUOTABLE II: "I don't know how many times it's happened to us this year, but just in the last few weeks -- it's something that's driving me crazy -- every game we have guys on the other team who come into the game shooting under 30 percent in threes (and they) make multiple trees. Tonight it's J.R. Smith, Landry Fields and Carmelo Anthony. That certainly had nothing to do with anything that happened this morning."
-- Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy, asked if the loss might have been related to comments he made earlier Thursday that Howard wanted him fired.

NOT: Fields missed all six of his free throw attempts for the Knicks.

GOOD MOVE: Fields drove and drew a third personal foul on Howard early on the third quarter, stifling any chance the Magic center had of getting out of his scoreless funk.

BAD MOVE: Van Gundy's revelation, seven hours before tipoff, that Howard had asked Magic management to fire him certainly didn't do anything to inspire his team.

IN THE ARENA: Overriding the presence of the Knicks, the presence of TNT, the Magic's losing streak and everything else was the Van Gundy-Howard feud, or the perception of it, and the assumption that Van Gundy's days as the Magic's head coach are numbered.

QUOTABLE III: "I've never been on a team that hasn't gone through some tough times. I think our tough times are magnified this season because of everything that's gone on off the court."
-- Magic guard J.J. Redick.

ROOKIE WATCH: Iman Shumpert started at shooting guard for the Knicks and played 37 minutes, scoring nine point.

NOTABLE: Howard, Van Gundy and general manager Otis Smith had a chat during the day, but Howard refused to talk about Van Gundy's comments after the game . . . Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu left the game in the second quarter after sustaining a cut under his right eye. He took three stitches . . . The Magic's losing streak is the franchise's longest since January of 2007, before Van Gundy was hired as coach.

UP NEXT: For the Knicks, Sunday vs. Chicago, Tuesday @ Chicago, Wednesday @ Milwaukee. For the Magic, Saturday @ Philadelphia, Monday vs. Detroit, Tuesday @ Washington.

• Knicks: Lin, Stoudemire
• Magic: Anderson, Richardson

• Knicks: Todd
• Magic: --

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
• Officials: #55 Bill Kennedy, #59 Gary Zielinski, #29 Mark Lindsay
• Attendance: 19098
• Duration: 2:22