New York Knicks 105, Orlando Magic 95
In a wicked reversal of fortune from one week ago, the Orlando Magic allowed the New York Knicks to walk into their building and pick-and-roll them out of it, dropping the game by a final score of 105-95. Hedo Turkoglu's 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists weren't enough to counter the Knicks' high-scoring duo of Al Harrington (a game-high 27) and Wilson Chandler (22). Orlando's league-best defense offered little resistance to the Knicks, who were getting open jumpers for Harrington and Chandler or a layup for David Lee on seemingly every possession. The poor perimeter defense, poor help defense, and poor defensive rebounding all added up. Orlando's loss, coupled with the Boston Celtics' defeat of the Miami Heat, puts Orlando 2 games behind Boston for the Eastern Conference's second seed, with three games left for each team to play. In other words, here are your third-place Orlando Magic.
| Team | Pace | Efficiency | eFG% | FT Rate | OReb% | TO Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knicks | 92 | 114.1 | 48.4% | 18.7 | 27.1 | 9.8 |
| Magic | 103.7 | 48.1% | 22.5 | 20.0 | 14.2 |
Last Friday, when the Magic crushed the league-best Cleveland Cavaliers on national television, seems like so far ago. Orlando has offered four consecutive lackluster performances that makes one wonder just how focused they are.
I believe I'm allowed two "the Magic didn't try, so why should I?" recaps a year. The first came on Halloween, when Rudy Gay drilled a jumper over Keith Bogans at the buzzer to give the Memphis Grizzlies an 86-84, come-from-behind victory. This one will be the second. The playoffs start a week from Saturday, and for the Magic to repeatedly lose Lee and his rolls to the bucket, to repeatedly fail to get Dwight Howard enough deep touches, to repeatedly fail to move the ball adequately... it just doesn't bode well. An optimist might argue this game could serve as a wake-up call for the Magic, who could win their last 3 games and finish the season strong; I'd counter by mentioning that the Magic's late-season wake-up call was last Wednesday in another home loss to a lottery-bound team from the Atlantic Division, the Toronto Raptors. No excuses for another poor effort just nine days later. This loss, like every other loss, counts only once in the standings. But this one feels like so much more than one, doesn't it? A second-round matchup with Boston looms, sans homecourt advantage. Gulp.
The Magic will look to get back on track tomorrow in their first and only visit to New Jersey this season.
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Comments
Pathetic effort
I couldn’t even muster up the energy to get pissed off during the game since I’ve gotten used to them half assing most games for the past 1.5 weeks and try to turn it on in the 4th quarter.
by AB's triple double on Apr 11, 2009 1:11 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, tonight .. for the lack of a better word, was ridiculous.
Piss poor effort from the majority of the team.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
Used to mix the wine with the lean/Now we sip soda with the Barre/20 inch blades on the car - Pimp C
by erivera7 on Apr 11, 2009 3:07 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
...which is very unusual for a Stan Van Gundy-coached team
SVG usually has the players well-prepared for games, plus they knew how much was at stake in regards to the seedings.
That being said, the Magic can still win their final three games in a row to finish at 61-21 and go into the playoffs with a bit of momentum.
by Mike from Illinois on Apr 11, 2009 4:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm pretty glad I didn't stay awake and watch this game
Sounds like a car crash.
Maybe it’s time to think about resting some guys for the ’offs and settle for third?
by big aaron on Apr 11, 2009 5:05 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Well, Orlando just crapped all over its opportunity for the #2 seed so ..
.. at this point, it’d be best if SVG just rest the starters a little and prep for the playoffs.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
Used to mix the wine with the lean/Now we sip soda with the Barre/20 inch blades on the car - Pimp C
by erivera7 on Apr 11, 2009 4:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Perfect example of what SVG has been saying
You can’t not play for 3 quarters and then think your gonna come out in the 4th. and take over every game. Ain’t gonna happen.
The Surfdog
by Surfdog on Apr 11, 2009 5:09 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Yep. Exactly.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
Used to mix the wine with the lean/Now we sip soda with the Barre/20 inch blades on the car - Pimp C
by erivera7 on Apr 11, 2009 4:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
One of those games where I logged on this morning, saw the boxscore and just rolled my eyes.
by eltharion_doa on Apr 11, 2009 5:15 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, definitely was one of those games .. no doubt.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
Used to mix the wine with the lean/Now we sip soda with the Barre/20 inch blades on the car - Pimp C
by erivera7 on Apr 11, 2009 4:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
He is the CONSUMATE Magic Hater!
And it KILLS ME that HE of ALL PEOPLE had to be the one to cover this game!!!!
Why couldn’t he have covered the Cavs game so we could shove an ENTIRE CROW down his throat!!!
by blue-blood on Apr 11, 2009 5:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Did you see this Tweet I sent last night?
Make it a 10pt deficit. And Jon Barry is loving it.
by Ben Q Rock on Apr 11, 2009 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, he was bagging on the Magic hard last night.
Had to mute the broadcast after a while .. it was pretty ridiculous.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
Used to mix the wine with the lean/Now we sip soda with the Barre/20 inch blades on the car - Pimp C
by erivera7 on Apr 11, 2009 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

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