Ryan Anderson, Hedo Turkoglu, and J.J. Redick combined for 22 of the Orlando Magic's 29 fourth-quarter points Monday afternoon, leading the visiting Magic to a come-from-behind victory against the New York Knicks, 102-93. Anderson scored 30 points on the day, a career-best, and added seven boards. Redick totaled 21 points in a spot-start for Jason Richardson, who's recovering from a bone bruise in his left knee. The win opens the Magic's lone back-to-back-to-back set of the 2011/12 season on a high note.
Carmelo Anthony torched Orlando for 33 points, but had just 13 of those in the second half, shooting 5-of-17 from the floor and missing all six of his three-point tries. Anthony's gunning shot the Knicks out of the game, in some respects, but one ought to credit the Magic's defense, which limited New York to 35.9 percent shooting in the second half. Orlando went zone for portions of the second half in order to exploit New York's lack of outside shooting and to protect center Dwight Howard, who would ultimately foul out in the game's final minute with the outcome no longer in doubt.
| Team | Pace | Efficiency | eFG% | FT Rate | OReb% | TO Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magic | 90.9 | 112.2 | 62.7% | 18.3 | 17.1 | 18.7 |
| Knicks | 90.9 | 102.3 | 44.5% | 38.4 | 12.5 | 12.1 |
| Green denotes a stat better than the team's season average; red denotes a stat worse than the team's season average. | ||||||
Anthony's slashing and foul-drawing ability staked New York to a 51-45 lead at the half; the four-time All-Star shot 4-of-10 from the field and 11-of-12 from the foul line en route to 20 points. Orlando remained in the game, however, thanks to 23 combined points from Anderson and Redick. Orlando failed to score until 3:17 had elapsed and managed just 17 points in the first quarter.
Despite the sluggist start, there wasn't much cause for concern: the Magic moved the ball beautifully and set up open looks, but the shots didn't fall. As long as the Knicks failed to adjust their schemes to account for Orlando's pick-and-roll-heavy attack, those shots would still be available to it as the game wore on.
And that's what happened. Orlando didn't dramatically alter its game plan, but simply continued to execute its offense. That Anderson unloaded 19 shots on the day--13 of them from beyond the arc--attests to the Knicks' weakness in defending pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop sets. It's one of the teams Orlando can beat even when Howard struggles, as he did Monday.
The Magic's superstar scored just eight points, shooting 3-of-6 from the field and a ghastly 2-of-9 from the foul line. He also committed six turnovers and six fouls in 28 minutes. Due to the Knicks' emphasis on denying him the ball, New York held a 40-20 edge in points in the paint.
Orlando looks to run its winning streak to five games, and to keep Howard on the floor, when it hosts the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday.
We invite you to follow Orlando Pinstriped Post on Twitter and like Orlando Pinstriped Post on Facebook.