Knicks surge past Magic with dominant second half to secure sixth straight Win

The New York Knicks locked down their sixth consecutive win, defeating the Orlando Magic 108-85 in a battle for third place in the Eastern Conference.

Jalen Brunson led the charge with 26 points and 9 assists, while Josh Hart delivered a stellar performance with 23 points and 13 rebounds.

“The best way to describe Josh is controlled chaos. He figures a way to out-physical, out-tough anybody on the court. That’s just who he is. That’s just in his DNA.”

– Jalen Brunson

Despite being tied 54-54 at halftime, the Knicks turned up the intensity in the second half, outscoring the Magic 22-14 in the third and dominating 32-17 in the fourth quarter. The win pushed the Knicks to 21-10, creating a three-game cushion over the Magic, who now sit at 19-14.

The turning point came late in the third quarter. With the game tied at 65, the Knicks unleashed a 9-0 run to take a 76-68 lead heading into the final period. They kept the pressure on, starting the fourth with a 13-6 burst and never looked back.

While the Knicks only connected on four three-pointers in 15 attempts, their precision inside the arc (36-60 shooting) and relentless paint play outshone the Magic, who struggled at 22-54 inside and 10-33 from deep.

The Knicks controlled the boards, outrebounding the Magic 44-33, and dominated the paint with a 60-34 scoring advantage. Mikal Bridges chipped in 17 points on an efficient 8-12 shooting, while Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 16 points and 8 rebounds.

On the Magic’s side, Jalen Suggs led with 27 points, supported by Goga Bitadze’s 14 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s 10, but the rest of the roster failed to make much of an impact, finishing in single digits.

Up-next: The Knicks (21-10) will take on the Wizards (5-23) tonight from 7:00pm in Washington.