7:00 PM ET | Amway Center TV: MSG NetworkRadio: ESPN 98.7 FM
1. The Knicks delivered a stirring comeback in Tuesday night’s thriller at MSG. Trailing by nine points with 5:34 to go in the fourth quarter, New York mounted a massive 14-2 run sparked by the second unit. The late game spurt was punctuated by a Kristaps Porzingis bucket from downtown that pushed the Knicks advantage to 114-111. New York held Charlotte to just two points over the final 1:48 of the contest and Porzingis hit a layup to seal the deal, providing the home team a 118-113 victory.
2. As mentioned above, the second unit ignited the Knicks rally in the fourth quarter on Tuesday night. Doug McDermott, Kyle O’Quinn, and Lance Thomas combined to score 23 points in the critical final stanza. Thomas was a menace on the defensive end and helped New York stifle Charlotte in the second half after the road team registered 69 first half points. In the win over the Pacers, Thomas played a key role as well. The Knicks forward locked down Victor Oladipo down the stretch and is proving to be an essential part of the rotation from a defensive perspective.
3. Porzingis continues to rewrite the record books early in his third season. The 7-3 rising star scored 28 points in the win against Charlotte, passing Patrick Ewing and Bernard King to set the franchise mark for most points through the first 10 games of the season. Porzingis has racked up 300 points in 10 games and is the youngest player for any team to achieve that feat, according to Elias Sports Bureau. In addition to the remarkable numbers over 10 outings, Porzingis is providing significant production in the fourth frame. Porzingis is the second leading scorer in the NBA in fourth quarters and during the last two games, he’s combined to score 24 points while shooting 77.8 percent from the floor.
4. The Knicks are 6-1 in their last seven games with three consecutive victories. While it’s extremely early in the season, New York improved to 6-4 overall and moved to fourth place in the latest Eastern Conference standings. With the recent surge, the orange and blue are now in the green when examining the points differential number (+0.3).
5. Following a 29-53 campaign a season ago, the Orlando Magic shook-up the front office and added some intriguing pieces. Orlando drafted former Florida State standout Jonathan Isaac and acquired Shelvin Mack, Arron Afflalo, and Jonathan Simmons. After a 6-2 start to the 2017-18 season, the Magic lost two consecutive games to the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics to fall to 6-4 overall. On Sunday, Boston cruised to a 104-88 victory over Orlando. Heading into tonight’s matchup against New York, the Magic rank No. 5 in 3-pointers attempted and No. 2 in three-point percentage.