Jalen Brunson scored eight points during a decisive run to open the second half for the New York Knicks, who earned a 106-100 win over the Orlando Magic after the visitors lost forward Franz Wagner to a lower leg injury.
Brunson finished with 30 points and nine assists and Josh Hart (17 points, 12 rebounds) posted a double-double for the Knicks, who overcame the absence of Karl-Anthony Towns (left calf) to close out a perfect three-game homestand and avenge their only home loss of the season.
Orlando beat New York 124-107 on Nov. 12. The Knicks moved to 13-1 at Madison Square Garden.
OG Anunoby scored 21 points Sunday and Mikal Bridges added 12. Mitchell Robinson, who started in place of Towns, had six points and 13 rebounds.
Anthony Black (14 points, 11 rebounds) recorded a double-double off the bench for the Magic, who lost for only the fourth time in 14 games. Jalen Suggs scored 17 points while Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane had 16 apiece.
Wagner was injured with 4:43 left in the first quarter as he attempted to corral an alley-oop pass from Black. He landed awkwardly after being fouled by Knicks center Ariel Hukporti and clutched his left knee as he writhed on the ground.
Wagner finished with seven points, three rebounds and one assist in seven minutes. He entered Sunday as the Magic’s scoring leader with 23.4 points per game.
The Knicks led by as many as seven and the Magic led by as many as four in the first half. Black drained a 3-pointer to give Orlando a 55-54 lead at intermission before New York took control in the third quarter.
The Knicks hit their first seven shots of the quarter while mounting a 15-2 run. Bane scored 10 points as the Magic surged to within 73-70 with 4:25 left.
New York answered by scoring 16 of the next 19 points, including the first seven of the fourth quarter, to take its biggest lead at 89-73 on Bridges’ layup with 10:46 remaining. The Magic didn’t get closer than eight points until the final minute.
–Field Level Media
