During the Thursday night NBA slate, Paolo Banchero tallied 21 points to lead the Orlando Magic to a 111-106 victory over the New York Knicks. He knocked down a 3-pointer with around a minute-and-a-half remaining in regulation, then iced the game with a pair of free throws with a few seconds left.
“It was the right play. They kicked it to me in the corner and I have to take that shot,” Banchero said, who is shooting 28.6 percent from 3 on the season. “Otherwise everybody’s mad at me.”
For Orlando, Cole Anthony added 18 points, while Wendell Carter Jr. scored 16 points and hauled in eight rebounds. After suffering an ankle injury in the fourth quarter, Franz Wagner scored 16 points.
The Knicks lost their third straight game despite scoring 25 points from Quentin Grimes and Immanuel Quickley. A total of 23 points and nine rebounds were recorded by Julius Randle.
As Jalen Brunson was out with an injury and Randle sat on the bench, the Knicks did not score for almost 5 1/2 minutes in the second quarter, resulting in them falling behind by 19 points. Randle ended the first half with a technical foul from referee Leon Wood and a heated exchange with Quickley.
“Everybody’s trying to win. That’s all I can really say about that,” Quickley said. “Sometimes that happens.”
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic & New York Knicks Updates
With 49 seconds left in the third quarter, Quickley’s two free throws tied it at 75 for New York, but the Knicks never took the lead. During the fourth quarter, Anthony and Gary Harris opened with three-pointers, and the Knicks spent the remainder of the game trying to catch up.
“We gave up 36 points in the fourth quarter tonight. That’s not who we are,” Quickley said.
“In the third quarter we got out of the hole, and then at the start of the fourth quarter we played poorly,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeaux said. “That third quarter our defense got us into the open floor. We got some easy buckets. That helped us a lot, but we exerted so much energy trying to fight out of that hole that we fell short in the end.”
During the game, Banchero played mostly guard to Randle, who managed only seven points on 20 shots.
“He just had 57 points a few games ago, which is ridiculous. I just tried to slow him down,” Banchero said.
Banchero explained: “Honestly I feel like we haven’t played a game this year that wasn’t meaningful. Every game has been competitive. Teams trying to get into playoff position are desperate and it makes it more fun when the level gets raised. We’re happy to compete.”
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic & New York Knicks Updates
The Knicks will take on the Houston Rockets at Madison Square Garden on Monday in their next game. Meanwhile, the Magic will be at home against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday when they return to action.
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