The Knicks’ magic was against staggering magic.
A third infernal condemned the Knicks when their streak of three consecutive Fantasyland victories was interrupted by an injury-ravaged Orlando team, 107-89, in front of 4,000 fans at the Amway Center on Wednesday night.
The Knicks (14-16) missed 15 consecutive shots in the second half to ruin their chance to move to a 0.500 record. They scored just 33 points in the second half.
Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley, the new electric / bank owner combination, were disastrous, combining to shoot 2 out of 22.
Rose, 32, killed the Knicks on her second consecutive night (1 in 10, four points), without the spark and shots from her previous Knicks games.
Rose’s bad night was part of an anemic display for the Knicks bench, which was on fire.
Meanwhile, Quickley had his worst night as a professional, losing his first 11 shots and finishing 1 to 12.
After being trained by the Knicks in the first half, Magic defeated them by 30 to 14 in the third period. Terrence Ross (30 points) hit a 3-point ball in the final seconds to give Magic an 83-70 lead after three quarters.
Orlando expelled the Knicks to lose balls and long rebounds. Magic, the NBA’s least accurate shooting team, drained 16 of 34 points from 3 points.
Knicks were cold, reaching 38.4% in total.
Julius Randle, from a 44-point night, scored (25), but failed to hold the Knicks in the second half when he scored 16 points in the first 16 minutes of the first half.
The Knicks finally lost the injured center Mitchell Robinson, his rim guard and caught in the attack. He will be out at least until mid-March, after hand surgery.
Strangely, RJ Barrett, who was playing an OK game, did not play the fourth period until the remaining 3:35, when the game was already bursting.
The Knicks’ three-game winning streak, against the Wizards, Rockets and Hawks, deserved a warning. The Wizards were without superstar Bradley Beal (rest). The Rockets played without their two best players, Christian Wood and Victor Oladipo. And the Hawks, who are expected to be playoff contenders, have suffered numerous injuries and are 11-16.
Against Magic, the Knicks jumped to a 32-23 lead after a quarter when Randle landed five of his first six shots and all three of his three points. He was smiling after each one, perhaps still stunned by his long-standing hot hand.
The smile was wiped from his face. Orlando warmed up from the 3-point range, hitting 8 out of 18 treys and closed at 56-53 at halftime, despite Randle’s 17 points in the first half.