The Knicks magic is exhausted against the spinning Magic.
A third quarter of hell condemned the Knicks, as their Fantasyland winning streak was caught by an injured Orlando team, 107-89, in front of 4,000 fans at the Amway Center on Wednesday night.
The Knicks (14-16) missed 15 straight shots in the second half to destroy their chance to break a .500 record. They scored only 33 points in the second half.
Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley, the new electric protection / bench combo, were disastrous, combining to shoot 2-for-22.
Rose, 32, killed the Knicks on his second straight night (1-for-10, four points), without the spark and shots of his previous Knicks games.
Rose’s ugly evening was part of an anemic show for Knicks Bank, which had been lit.
Meanwhile, Quickley had the worst night as a professional, missing the first 11 shots and finishing 1-for-12.
After being schooled by the Knicks in the first half, Magic beat them, 30-14, in the third quarter. Terrence Ross (30 points) hit with 3 points in the final seconds to give Magic an 83-70 lead after three quarters.
Orlando overtook the Knicks to lose balls and long rebounds. Magic, the NBA’s most accurate shooting team, drew 16 of 34 3-pointers.
The Knicks were frozen, shooting 38.4% in total.
Julius Randle, on a night of 44 points, collected figures (25 points), but could not carry the Knicks in the second half, when he scored 16 points in the first 16 minutes of the half.
The Knicks eventually missed the injured Mitchell Robinson center, protecting his rim and picking off the offense. He will be out until at least mid-March after hand surgery.
Strangely, RJ Barrett, who had an OK game, did not play the fourth quarter until it was 3:35, when the game was already a blast.
Knicks’ three-game winning streak against the Wizards, Missiles and Hawks deserved a warning. The wizards were without superstar Bradley Beal (rest). The Rockets played without their best players, Christian Wood and Victor Oladipo. And the Hawks, expected to be competitors in the playoffs, suffered a lot of injuries and are 11-16.
In the face of magic, the Knicks jumped 32-23 after a quarter, Randle hit five of the first six shots and all three points. He smiled after everyone, perhaps still amazed by the hot hand throughout the season.
The smile faded from his face. Orlando rose from 3 points, hitting 8 of 18 three and closing 56-53 at the break, despite Randle’s 17 points in the first half.