Related Images
Final: Orlando Magic 110 - New York Knicks 96
December 26, 2007 - Amway Arena
NBA.com Preview |
Game Notes (PDF) |
Box Score |
Play-By-Play |
Postgame Quotes |
Recap |
Video |
Photos
By Nick Adams | OrlandoMagic.com
RECAP
The Magic finally snap their four game losing streak at home tonight outscoring the New York Knicks 31-20 in the fourth quarter on their way to a 110-96 victory.
Orlando (19-11) shot a tremendous 53 percent from the field led by Hedo Turkoglu's 10-of-15 shooting and team-high 26 points. Rashard Lewis had a solid game of his own adding 25 points as Lewis and Turkoglu combined to go 7-of-10 from beyond the arc.
Dwight Howard posted his 11th straight double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds), and Keyon Dooling added 12 points off the bench.
Jamal Crawford led New York (8-20) with a game-high 29 points and eight assists in the losing effort.
The Magic head south to face interstate rival the Miami Heat on Friday night looking to start a winning streak.
FOURTH QUARTER
Hedo Turkoglu opens the final period nailing a three-pointer from the corner as the Amway crowd rises to their feet. The Magic string together a couple of buckets capped off by a Turkoglu jumper from the free-throw line. The Knicks call a timeout and the Amway crowd goes crazy as the Magic have increased their lead to ten points at 88-78.
Hedo is on fire and nails another jumper giving him a game-high 23 points, and Dooling scores to give the Magic a 12 point advantage at 92-80 with 7:46 left in the game.
Jameer Nelson nets a much needed three and Amway is rockin' with the Magic rolling 97-82.
The Magic have also stepped up their intensity on defense forcing a shot clock violation. Hedo has taken over this game as he throws a beautiful full court pass to Rashard Lewis who finishes a layup.
Hedo then drives and finds Rashard again, this time for a jumper and the Magic lead is 101-87 with four minutes to go.
Jamal Crawford seems to be the only Knick who hasn't packed it in and good for me because he is on Orlandomagic.com's fantasy team and good for the Magic because it seems that his game-high 29 points and seven assits won't effect the outcome of tonight's game. The Magic lead 107-92 with just under two minutes to go.
Dwight Howard fights for an offensive rebound and puts in a layup plus the foul. Howard converts the three-point play and the Magic lead 110-94 under a minute remaining.
The Amway crowd gives the Magic a standing ovation as the Magic finally win at home beating the Knicks 110-96.
Final: Orlando Magic 110, New York Knicks 96
THIRD QUARTER
The first points of the second half are scored by Keith Bogans who drives to the basket and gets a runner off the glass to drop. Dwight Howard splits a pair of free-throws and the Magic lead 53-51 two minutes into the second half.
Two free-throws from Jamal Crawford end the Magic's 7-0 run to start the half but the Magic still lead 57-53.
The teams trade buckets and a Jamal Crawford jumper bring the Knicks within two and Jared Jeffries ties the ballgame at 64 with a three-pointer from the corner.
David Lee's layup forces a Van Gundy timeout halfway through the second half with the Magic trailing 66-64.
Three Rashard Lewis free-throws gives him a game-high 21 points and cuts the Magic's deficit to one.
Dwight is getting hacked down low and Jared Jeffries catches a Howard shoulder which knocks Jeffries down. Things get heated as Jeffries gets up and into the face of Dwight who shows he is the bigger man, literally, and walks away.
Hedo's runner in the lane puts the Magic up by one at 72-71 with less than three minutes left in the third.
The intensity of the game increases as the Magic hold a 75-73 lead inside of a minute. A Howard block leads to a transition opportunity for the Magic as Dooling is fouled heading to the basket. Dooling nets both from the charity stripe and the Magic lead 77-74.
Augustine gets fouled as he lays in a basket but can't convert the three-point play as the third quarter concludes.
End of Third: Orlando Magic 79, New York Knicks 76
SECOND QUARTER
The Magic begin the quarter with back-to-back triples from Hedo and Rashard to tie the ballgame at 31. Rashard buckets his 12th point of the game and Arroyo hits a runner in the lane to give the Magic the lead at 35-33 three minutes into the second period.
Nate Robinson gives New York back the lead as he nets a three from the right wing and he increases the lead to 40-35 nailing another one from downtown.
Robinson hits his third straight three but Rashard answers with one of his own bringing the Magic within four at 43-39 with 4:39 to go in the half.
Nate Robinson gets his 16th point and Van Gundy is forced to call a timeout as the Amway faithful express their displeasure.
The Knicks get another three-pointer and increase their lead to nine points with three minutes to go in the opening half. New York is shooting 6-of-11 from beyond the arc so far tonight.
Back-to-back threes by Keith Bogans and Hedo Turkoglu cut the Magic deficit to one point at 48-47 as the first half winds down. Hedo nails another three to give the Magic a 50-48 lead but a Nelson turnover leads to a buzzer beating three by Quentin Richardson to end the half.
Halftime: New York Knicks 51, Orlando Magic 50
FIRST QUARTER
The Magic and the Knicks meet at half court for tonight's contest as Dwight Howard and Eddy Curry compete for the opening tip.
Curry wins the tip and the Magic control tonight's opening possession. The Magic start their normal starters, Nelson, Bogans, Turkoglu, Lewis, and Howard, and the Knicks counter with a new starting lineup which features Jamal Crawford, Jared Jeffries, Quentin Richardson, David Lee, and Curry.
David Lee starts off the game with a put back off of a rebound giving the Knicks the first points of the game. Rashard Lewis drives to the right wing and shoots a floater over Curry which falls. Curry picks up his second foul early and has to sit.
Turk and Lewis hit mid-range jumpers to give the Magic an early 6-4 advantage three minutes into tonight's ballgame.
Howard brings the crowd to their feet slamming home an alley-oop from Nelson. David Lee answers with another offensive rebound and easy put back.
The Magic get back-to-back transition buckets on nice feeds from Hedo Turkoglu to give the Magic back the lead at 12-11 halfway through the opening period.
The Knicks go on a 5-0 run forcing Van Gundy to call a timeout with the Magic trailing 16-12.
A Dwight Howard block leads to a transition three-pointer by Rashard Lewis. Rashard is off to a great start scoring seven points on 3-of-4 shooting.
The Knicks show a 2-3 match-up zone and immediately get called for a defensive three seconds. The Magic are unable to convert and the Knicks make them pay as Jamal Crawford strokes a three to give the Knicks a 22-16 lead.
The two teams trade buckets and New York calls a timeout leading 24-18 with two minutes to go in the first.
James Augustine finds a crack in the Knicks' zone and buckets an easy two trimming the New York lead to four.
Dooling score four straight points for the Magic but Zach Randolph answers with his 11th point of the first quarter giving the Knicks a 31-26 lead as the opening quarter ends.
End of First: New York Knicks 31, Orlando Magic 26
KEYS TO THE GAME
Get Out to an Early Lead
The Magic lack confidence right now, especially at Amway, and it is imperative that they come out with energy and jump out to an early lead. The Amway crowd began to voice their displeasure in the latter parts of the last home game and look for that to continue if the Magic fail to jump out early. So, it is vital the Magic jump out early, get the crowd involved, and build back their confidence.
On the other hand, the Knicks have had a very rough start to their season with a lack of chemistry between their entire team and organization, so if the Magic can jump out early the Knicks are bound to get frustrated and start pointing fingers.
Interior Defense
As Coach Van Gundy stated below, perhaps the Knicks' strongest area on their team is their low post presence of Zach Randolph and Eddie Curry. The Magic have had a disadvantage all year at the defensive end of the floor with the weaker Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu guarding stronger post players.
Their lack of interior defense was evident in the Magic's last home game against the Utah Jazz where Paul Milsap and Carlos Boozer torched the Magic down low. Besides Dwight Howard, someone else is going to have to step up for the Magic tonight if they want to keep up with New York's big bodies down low.
Get Rashard and Jameer Going
Orlando needs Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson to play at the level they had at the beginning of the season. In their last three games, Lewis has averaged just 13.3 points while shooting 37 percent from the field, and Nelson has averaged just 6.3 points on 30 percent shooting. Lewis and Nelson must provide Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu with the help they gave when the Magic started 16-4.
SHOOTAROUND
Head coach Stan Van Gundy gave his team their belated Christmas present Wednesday morning at shootaround by changing their normal game-day walk-through into a full-go practice.
"Everyone went through shootaround and we went pretty hard this morning," said Van Gundy.
Perhaps the reason for the intense practice is the Magic's poor play at home as they look to snap a four game losing streak at Amway Arena.
Van Gundy stated the dire play at Amway as an area of concern for the Magic and that they have stressed the importance of the team's intensity and focus.
Focus has possibly been the team's biggest let down as three out of their last four losses at home have come from teams with losing records.
With the struggling 8-19 Knicks coming into Amway, the Magic aren't focusing on New York's struggles but rather on their own.
"I don't try to analyze the other team's problems," Van Gundy stated. "I try to analyize what our team needs to do in order to win."
Winning is something Van Gundy said won't come easy against the Knicks who feature a formidable low post game.
"They are a very capable basketball team and in preparation you have to prepare for the opposition's best," added Van Gundy. "They have as good of a post up game as there is in the Eastern Conference and if any of those guys get the ball near the basket they can cause a lot of damage."
"Those guys" in which Van Gundy refers to are the starting tandem of Zach Randolph (18.0 ppg, 10.3 rpg) and Eddie Curry (14.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg).
Despite Randolph and Curry's talents, the Knicks inconsistent play has head coach Isiah Thomas contemplating a line-up change. Pressuring Thomas, and Randolph/Curry's playing time, has been the play of former University of Florida standout David Lee.
Lee has provided energy and production off the Knicks' bench this season averaging 10.1 points and 7.6 rebounds in 26 minutes.
Van Gundy says that his coaching staff and the Magic will be preparing for anything.
"I am sure one of them will be out there at all times and you never know who the other coach wants to play but we have to be prepared for anything."
Preparing for their opponent is one of the team's concerns but internally the team will aim to get starters Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson back on track.
"A huge key for us to get back on track will be getting Rashard and Jameer to play the way they did in the beginning of the season," commented Van Gundy.
In the Magic's slump, both Rashard's and Jameer's stats have declined but Van Gundy says he expects their play to improve.
"Rashard has been struggling and battling his neck injury and he told me today that it feels the best it has in a while so I expect a good game out of him tonight."
Van Gundy continued, "with Jameer we think it is just a slight lack in confidence but he is a four year professional and he will get back on track."
Getting back on track is Orlando's focus as they get ready to square off against the Knicks.
PREGAME
The Magic will have a great opportunity to get back on the winning track as they face the 8-19 New York Knicks Wednesday night at Amway Arena.
New York has dropped eight out of their last ten and come to Orlando with a 1-10 record on the road.
A tumultrous season for the Knicks has seen New York get outscored by their opponents by an average of 7.7 points per game, second worst point differential in the NBA.
Perhaps the reason for their lack of success derives from their struggles on defense, allowing their opponents to shoot 48 percent from the field which ranks worst in the league.
As a result of the high percent, the Knicks have allowed their opponents to average 101.7 points and have a 2-14 record when allowing a least 100 points.
Despite their woes, Jamal Crawford has been a bright spot of the Knicks averaging a career-high 18.9 points, while Zach Randolph has averaged a double-double (18.0 ppg, 10.3 rpg) in his first year with the Knicks after coming over in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers.
No stranger to double-doubles is Orlando's Dwight Howard who comes into Wednesday's contest having tallied 10 straight double-double performances.
Dwight Howard posted a 22 point, 20 rebound performance in a 112-102 win when Orlando and New York met earlier this season at Madison Square Garden.
The Magic will work to duplicate this performance as they seek to begin a winning streak at Amway Arena Wednesday night.
MAGIC INJURY REPORT
Tony Battie – Out, torn rotator cuff, left shoulder – underwent successful surgery on Oct. 24; will likely miss the entire season.
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT:
Dec. 26 vs. New York (Orlando, FL): Orlando is 35-36 all-time vs. New York (19-16 at home, 16-20 on the road) during the regular season, including 1-0 this season (see recap below)…The Magic went 1-2 last season against the Knicks...Orlando has won six of the last nine meetings and 14 of the last 23 overall in the series...The Magic have won three of the last four outings at home, and won eight of the last 12 at MSG…Head Coach Stan Van Gundy is the brother of former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, and attended college at SUNY-Brockport…Assistant Coach Patrick Ewing had his #33 retired by the Knicks in February 2003…He is New York’s all-time leader in games played, points, minutes, field goals made and attempted, free throws made and attempted, rebounds, steals, blocked shots and 40-point games…Assistant Coach Brendan Malone served in the same capacity with the Knicks on three separate occasions (1986-88, 1997-2000, 2003-04)…Assistant Coach Steve Clifford spent three seasons with the Knicks – two as an assistant coach (2001-03) and one as an advanced scout (2000-01)…Assistant Coach Bob Beyer is a native of LeRoy, NY and was the head coach for Siena College from 1994-97…For last season’s stats and Magic career numbers vs. New York, see p. 272 of the media guide…Nov. 9 @ New York – Magic 112, Knicks 102: Four Orlando players scored 20-or-more points, led by Jameer Nelson’s season-high 24 points, as Orlando defeated New York, 112-102, at Madison Square Garden. It was the Magic’s fourth straight win, their fourth consecutive road victory and the first time in franchise history they went a perfect 4-0 on a road trip. Dwight Howard tallied 22 points and a season-high 20 rebounds for his seventh career 20-point/20-rebound game. Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis each added 21 points. Zach Randolph led the Knicks with 23 points and 12 rebounds. The game was tightly contested until the fourth quarter, where the Magic went on a 12-2 run midway through the stanza to seal the win.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. KNICKS: 41 pts., Shaquille O’Neal (@ Orlando, 2-28-95; @ Orlando, 2-5-95; @ New York, 11-10-94)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 39 pts., John Starks (@ New York, 1-4-94)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| KNICKS | 31 | 20 | 25 | 20 | 96 |
| MAGIC | 26 | 24 | 29 | 31 | 110 |
By Nick Adams | OrlandoMagic.com
RECAP
The Magic finally snap their four game losing streak at home tonight outscoring the New York Knicks 31-20 in the fourth quarter on their way to a 110-96 victory.
Orlando (19-11) shot a tremendous 53 percent from the field led by Hedo Turkoglu's 10-of-15 shooting and team-high 26 points. Rashard Lewis had a solid game of his own adding 25 points as Lewis and Turkoglu combined to go 7-of-10 from beyond the arc.
Dwight Howard posted his 11th straight double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds), and Keyon Dooling added 12 points off the bench.
Jamal Crawford led New York (8-20) with a game-high 29 points and eight assists in the losing effort.
The Magic head south to face interstate rival the Miami Heat on Friday night looking to start a winning streak.
FOURTH QUARTER
Hedo Turkoglu opens the final period nailing a three-pointer from the corner as the Amway crowd rises to their feet. The Magic string together a couple of buckets capped off by a Turkoglu jumper from the free-throw line. The Knicks call a timeout and the Amway crowd goes crazy as the Magic have increased their lead to ten points at 88-78.
Hedo is on fire and nails another jumper giving him a game-high 23 points, and Dooling scores to give the Magic a 12 point advantage at 92-80 with 7:46 left in the game.
Jameer Nelson nets a much needed three and Amway is rockin' with the Magic rolling 97-82.
The Magic have also stepped up their intensity on defense forcing a shot clock violation. Hedo has taken over this game as he throws a beautiful full court pass to Rashard Lewis who finishes a layup.
Hedo then drives and finds Rashard again, this time for a jumper and the Magic lead is 101-87 with four minutes to go.
Jamal Crawford seems to be the only Knick who hasn't packed it in and good for me because he is on Orlandomagic.com's fantasy team and good for the Magic because it seems that his game-high 29 points and seven assits won't effect the outcome of tonight's game. The Magic lead 107-92 with just under two minutes to go.
Dwight Howard fights for an offensive rebound and puts in a layup plus the foul. Howard converts the three-point play and the Magic lead 110-94 under a minute remaining.
The Amway crowd gives the Magic a standing ovation as the Magic finally win at home beating the Knicks 110-96.
Final: Orlando Magic 110, New York Knicks 96
THIRD QUARTER
The first points of the second half are scored by Keith Bogans who drives to the basket and gets a runner off the glass to drop. Dwight Howard splits a pair of free-throws and the Magic lead 53-51 two minutes into the second half.
Two free-throws from Jamal Crawford end the Magic's 7-0 run to start the half but the Magic still lead 57-53.
The teams trade buckets and a Jamal Crawford jumper bring the Knicks within two and Jared Jeffries ties the ballgame at 64 with a three-pointer from the corner.
David Lee's layup forces a Van Gundy timeout halfway through the second half with the Magic trailing 66-64.
Three Rashard Lewis free-throws gives him a game-high 21 points and cuts the Magic's deficit to one.
Dwight is getting hacked down low and Jared Jeffries catches a Howard shoulder which knocks Jeffries down. Things get heated as Jeffries gets up and into the face of Dwight who shows he is the bigger man, literally, and walks away.
Hedo's runner in the lane puts the Magic up by one at 72-71 with less than three minutes left in the third.
The intensity of the game increases as the Magic hold a 75-73 lead inside of a minute. A Howard block leads to a transition opportunity for the Magic as Dooling is fouled heading to the basket. Dooling nets both from the charity stripe and the Magic lead 77-74.
Augustine gets fouled as he lays in a basket but can't convert the three-point play as the third quarter concludes.
End of Third: Orlando Magic 79, New York Knicks 76
SECOND QUARTER
The Magic begin the quarter with back-to-back triples from Hedo and Rashard to tie the ballgame at 31. Rashard buckets his 12th point of the game and Arroyo hits a runner in the lane to give the Magic the lead at 35-33 three minutes into the second period.
Nate Robinson gives New York back the lead as he nets a three from the right wing and he increases the lead to 40-35 nailing another one from downtown.
Robinson hits his third straight three but Rashard answers with one of his own bringing the Magic within four at 43-39 with 4:39 to go in the half.
Nate Robinson gets his 16th point and Van Gundy is forced to call a timeout as the Amway faithful express their displeasure.
The Knicks get another three-pointer and increase their lead to nine points with three minutes to go in the opening half. New York is shooting 6-of-11 from beyond the arc so far tonight.
Back-to-back threes by Keith Bogans and Hedo Turkoglu cut the Magic deficit to one point at 48-47 as the first half winds down. Hedo nails another three to give the Magic a 50-48 lead but a Nelson turnover leads to a buzzer beating three by Quentin Richardson to end the half.
Halftime: New York Knicks 51, Orlando Magic 50
FIRST QUARTER
The Magic and the Knicks meet at half court for tonight's contest as Dwight Howard and Eddy Curry compete for the opening tip.
Curry wins the tip and the Magic control tonight's opening possession. The Magic start their normal starters, Nelson, Bogans, Turkoglu, Lewis, and Howard, and the Knicks counter with a new starting lineup which features Jamal Crawford, Jared Jeffries, Quentin Richardson, David Lee, and Curry.
David Lee starts off the game with a put back off of a rebound giving the Knicks the first points of the game. Rashard Lewis drives to the right wing and shoots a floater over Curry which falls. Curry picks up his second foul early and has to sit.
Turk and Lewis hit mid-range jumpers to give the Magic an early 6-4 advantage three minutes into tonight's ballgame.
Howard brings the crowd to their feet slamming home an alley-oop from Nelson. David Lee answers with another offensive rebound and easy put back.
The Magic get back-to-back transition buckets on nice feeds from Hedo Turkoglu to give the Magic back the lead at 12-11 halfway through the opening period.
The Knicks go on a 5-0 run forcing Van Gundy to call a timeout with the Magic trailing 16-12.
A Dwight Howard block leads to a transition three-pointer by Rashard Lewis. Rashard is off to a great start scoring seven points on 3-of-4 shooting.
The Knicks show a 2-3 match-up zone and immediately get called for a defensive three seconds. The Magic are unable to convert and the Knicks make them pay as Jamal Crawford strokes a three to give the Knicks a 22-16 lead.
The two teams trade buckets and New York calls a timeout leading 24-18 with two minutes to go in the first.
James Augustine finds a crack in the Knicks' zone and buckets an easy two trimming the New York lead to four.
Dooling score four straight points for the Magic but Zach Randolph answers with his 11th point of the first quarter giving the Knicks a 31-26 lead as the opening quarter ends.
End of First: New York Knicks 31, Orlando Magic 26
KEYS TO THE GAME
Get Out to an Early Lead
The Magic lack confidence right now, especially at Amway, and it is imperative that they come out with energy and jump out to an early lead. The Amway crowd began to voice their displeasure in the latter parts of the last home game and look for that to continue if the Magic fail to jump out early. So, it is vital the Magic jump out early, get the crowd involved, and build back their confidence.
On the other hand, the Knicks have had a very rough start to their season with a lack of chemistry between their entire team and organization, so if the Magic can jump out early the Knicks are bound to get frustrated and start pointing fingers.
Interior Defense
As Coach Van Gundy stated below, perhaps the Knicks' strongest area on their team is their low post presence of Zach Randolph and Eddie Curry. The Magic have had a disadvantage all year at the defensive end of the floor with the weaker Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu guarding stronger post players.
Their lack of interior defense was evident in the Magic's last home game against the Utah Jazz where Paul Milsap and Carlos Boozer torched the Magic down low. Besides Dwight Howard, someone else is going to have to step up for the Magic tonight if they want to keep up with New York's big bodies down low.
Get Rashard and Jameer Going
Orlando needs Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson to play at the level they had at the beginning of the season. In their last three games, Lewis has averaged just 13.3 points while shooting 37 percent from the field, and Nelson has averaged just 6.3 points on 30 percent shooting. Lewis and Nelson must provide Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu with the help they gave when the Magic started 16-4.
SHOOTAROUND
Head coach Stan Van Gundy gave his team their belated Christmas present Wednesday morning at shootaround by changing their normal game-day walk-through into a full-go practice.
"Everyone went through shootaround and we went pretty hard this morning," said Van Gundy.
Perhaps the reason for the intense practice is the Magic's poor play at home as they look to snap a four game losing streak at Amway Arena.
Van Gundy stated the dire play at Amway as an area of concern for the Magic and that they have stressed the importance of the team's intensity and focus.
Focus has possibly been the team's biggest let down as three out of their last four losses at home have come from teams with losing records.
With the struggling 8-19 Knicks coming into Amway, the Magic aren't focusing on New York's struggles but rather on their own.
"I don't try to analyze the other team's problems," Van Gundy stated. "I try to analyize what our team needs to do in order to win."
Winning is something Van Gundy said won't come easy against the Knicks who feature a formidable low post game.
"They are a very capable basketball team and in preparation you have to prepare for the opposition's best," added Van Gundy. "They have as good of a post up game as there is in the Eastern Conference and if any of those guys get the ball near the basket they can cause a lot of damage."
"Those guys" in which Van Gundy refers to are the starting tandem of Zach Randolph (18.0 ppg, 10.3 rpg) and Eddie Curry (14.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg).
Despite Randolph and Curry's talents, the Knicks inconsistent play has head coach Isiah Thomas contemplating a line-up change. Pressuring Thomas, and Randolph/Curry's playing time, has been the play of former University of Florida standout David Lee.
Lee has provided energy and production off the Knicks' bench this season averaging 10.1 points and 7.6 rebounds in 26 minutes.
Van Gundy says that his coaching staff and the Magic will be preparing for anything.
"I am sure one of them will be out there at all times and you never know who the other coach wants to play but we have to be prepared for anything."
Preparing for their opponent is one of the team's concerns but internally the team will aim to get starters Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson back on track.
"A huge key for us to get back on track will be getting Rashard and Jameer to play the way they did in the beginning of the season," commented Van Gundy.
In the Magic's slump, both Rashard's and Jameer's stats have declined but Van Gundy says he expects their play to improve.
"Rashard has been struggling and battling his neck injury and he told me today that it feels the best it has in a while so I expect a good game out of him tonight."
Van Gundy continued, "with Jameer we think it is just a slight lack in confidence but he is a four year professional and he will get back on track."
Getting back on track is Orlando's focus as they get ready to square off against the Knicks.
PREGAME
The Magic will have a great opportunity to get back on the winning track as they face the 8-19 New York Knicks Wednesday night at Amway Arena.
New York has dropped eight out of their last ten and come to Orlando with a 1-10 record on the road.
A tumultrous season for the Knicks has seen New York get outscored by their opponents by an average of 7.7 points per game, second worst point differential in the NBA.
Perhaps the reason for their lack of success derives from their struggles on defense, allowing their opponents to shoot 48 percent from the field which ranks worst in the league.
As a result of the high percent, the Knicks have allowed their opponents to average 101.7 points and have a 2-14 record when allowing a least 100 points.
Despite their woes, Jamal Crawford has been a bright spot of the Knicks averaging a career-high 18.9 points, while Zach Randolph has averaged a double-double (18.0 ppg, 10.3 rpg) in his first year with the Knicks after coming over in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers.
No stranger to double-doubles is Orlando's Dwight Howard who comes into Wednesday's contest having tallied 10 straight double-double performances.
Dwight Howard posted a 22 point, 20 rebound performance in a 112-102 win when Orlando and New York met earlier this season at Madison Square Garden.
The Magic will work to duplicate this performance as they seek to begin a winning streak at Amway Arena Wednesday night.
MAGIC INJURY REPORT
Tony Battie – Out, torn rotator cuff, left shoulder – underwent successful surgery on Oct. 24; will likely miss the entire season.
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT:
Dec. 26 vs. New York (Orlando, FL): Orlando is 35-36 all-time vs. New York (19-16 at home, 16-20 on the road) during the regular season, including 1-0 this season (see recap below)…The Magic went 1-2 last season against the Knicks...Orlando has won six of the last nine meetings and 14 of the last 23 overall in the series...The Magic have won three of the last four outings at home, and won eight of the last 12 at MSG…Head Coach Stan Van Gundy is the brother of former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, and attended college at SUNY-Brockport…Assistant Coach Patrick Ewing had his #33 retired by the Knicks in February 2003…He is New York’s all-time leader in games played, points, minutes, field goals made and attempted, free throws made and attempted, rebounds, steals, blocked shots and 40-point games…Assistant Coach Brendan Malone served in the same capacity with the Knicks on three separate occasions (1986-88, 1997-2000, 2003-04)…Assistant Coach Steve Clifford spent three seasons with the Knicks – two as an assistant coach (2001-03) and one as an advanced scout (2000-01)…Assistant Coach Bob Beyer is a native of LeRoy, NY and was the head coach for Siena College from 1994-97…For last season’s stats and Magic career numbers vs. New York, see p. 272 of the media guide…Nov. 9 @ New York – Magic 112, Knicks 102: Four Orlando players scored 20-or-more points, led by Jameer Nelson’s season-high 24 points, as Orlando defeated New York, 112-102, at Madison Square Garden. It was the Magic’s fourth straight win, their fourth consecutive road victory and the first time in franchise history they went a perfect 4-0 on a road trip. Dwight Howard tallied 22 points and a season-high 20 rebounds for his seventh career 20-point/20-rebound game. Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis each added 21 points. Zach Randolph led the Knicks with 23 points and 12 rebounds. The game was tightly contested until the fourth quarter, where the Magic went on a 12-2 run midway through the stanza to seal the win.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. KNICKS: 41 pts., Shaquille O’Neal (@ Orlando, 2-28-95; @ Orlando, 2-5-95; @ New York, 11-10-94)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 39 pts., John Starks (@ New York, 1-4-94)
