Carmelo Anthony stars again as New York Knicks knock off Orlando Magic to remain unbeaten: NBA Recap
New York Knicks remain the only unbeaten team in the league as they held off Orlando Magic 99-89 tonight to go 5-0 up. Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points while J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton each had 21 as the Knicks went 5-0 for
the first time since the 1993-1994 season.
Magic gave away 20 turnovers that resulted in 20 points, compared to the Knicks who only has 9 turnovers. Magic continued to struggle as and were visibly missing their regular starters Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu. Nelson missed
his sixth straight game with a strained right hamstring and groin.
Magic kept the Knicks in check for most of the game despite not scoring more than 75 points in their last three losses. It was a pretty close game throughout and the score was tied 17 times, before the Knicks took away the game
late in the fourth quarter at the back of a quick scoring spree.
The Magic were up 11-6 early before Anthony made two back to back jump shots to cut the deficit to 10-11. Raymond Felton sunk in a three pointer as Knicks went ahead for the first time at 18-17. The score was tied at 19, before
a burst near the end of the period had the Knicks up 27-23.
The Knicks got off to a flying start in the second quarter as they raced to an early 35-25 lead. Magic responded with a 10-0 run to tie the score at 35. The lead was traded many times and it was a one or two point game for most
of the period. Andrew Nicholson’s layup in the closing moments had the Magic leading by 53-49 by halftime.
The score was tied at 63 around the halfway mark of the third period. Both teams found themselves equally distributed on the scoring chart for a while, and no one was able to get away. Later on, Magic were up 69-66 before the Knicks
levelled the score, which was all square again on 71. The period ended with Knicks leading by one at 77-76.
It was 79 all early in the period before Knicks started pulling away. A 12-3 run capped off by a Carmelo Anthony shot from downtown put them up by 91-82. Chandler’s free throws opened up an 11 point advantage at 95-84, and Knicks
took the advantage home as they won 99-89 in the end.
Seven Magic players got into double scoring figures on the night. J.J. Redick led the pack with 18 points and 7 assists, Arron Afflalo had 13 points. Nikola Vucevic and E'Twaun Moore finished off with 12 points each. Magic also
managed to out rebound the Knicks by 42-31.
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