Karl-Anthony Towns recorded his first 20-point, 20-rebound game in over five years on Sunday night, when he lifted the visiting New York Knicks to a 100-91 win over the Orlando Magic.
Towns had 22 points and 22 rebounds for his 13th career 20-20 game and his first since March 23, 2019, when he collected 33 points and 23 boards for the Minnesota Timberwolves against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Jalen Brunson scored 31 points for the Knicks, who have alternated wins and losses over their past five games. Mikal Bridges added 17 points while Josh Hart finished with 12 for New York.
Moritz Wagner scored a career-high 32 points off the bench for the Magic, who lost at home for the first time in 11 games this season. Wagner bettered his previous single-game best of 30 points, set for the Washington Wizards against the Timberwolves on Nov. 15, 2019.
Tristan da Silva (20 points) was the only other Magic player to score in double figures.
The teams were tied 22-22 at the end of the first quarter before the Knicks went ahead for good at 26-24 on a layup by Bridges with 10:34 left in the second. New York began pulling away with an 18-9 run over the final 6:50 of the first half to take a 51-41 lead into the break.
The Knicks opened up their first 14-point lead at 66-52 on a three-point play by Bridges with 5:51 left in the third quarter before the Magic had their lone surge of the second half. Wagner hit 3-pointers to bookend an 8-0 run, but Towns put back a Brunson miss following a timeout, and New York led by at least seven the rest of the way.
The Magic got within seven points once more at 77-70 on Jonathan Isaac’s 3-pointer with 10:35 left in the game. The Knicks led by as many as 16 down the stretch.
–Field Level Media
