Glen ``Big Baby’’ Davis scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 39 minutes. Nikola Vucevic and Jameer Nelson both had double-doubles – Jameer scoring 17 points and handing out 10 assists, while Nik scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Harris added 14 points in nearly 44 minutes.
``New York let up a little and we kept fighting,’’ said Davis, who made nine of 21 shots. ``We gave ourselves a chance to win the game and we just didn’t finish.’’
Orlando dropped to 0-14 this season when yielding 100 points.
J.R. Smith scored 18 points off the bench and carried the Knicks late with Anthony in the locker room. New York hit 10 of 21 3-pointers.
Had the Magic been able to come all the way back against the Knicks, it would have been one of the greatest comebacks in franchise history. Orlando’s biggest comeback this season was 19 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on Nov. 13.
``Nothing was said (at halftime); we just took it upon ourselves to play for something. We played for pride,’’ said Davis, who scored 13 of his 20 points after halftime.
Monday’s game was the midpoint of Orlando’s six-game home stand. Orlando will be off for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and play the Detroit Pistons at the Amway Center on Friday. The Magic also host Atlanta (Sunday) and Golden State (Dec. 31) on this season-long home stand.
Seemingly given up for dead after a first half in which they were down as much as 25 points, the Magic came out focused and trying to restore some pride in the third period. They repeatedly pounded the ball inside to Davis (nine points in the third quarter) and Vucevic (four points) to put a charge back into the game. And when Orlando got to within 76-70 of New York on a Nelson 3-pointer, it capped a 27-8 Magic rally and energized the Amway Center crowd.
``Our guys just didn’t want to lose that way and we weren’t proud of how we were playing,’’ Vucevic said. ``We wanted to show that we have pride and that we would fight and come back. We played very well in the second half, but it was kind of late because we dug ourselves a 20-point (deficit).’’
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