Knicks blow out Magic 108-86

The New York Knicks took it to the Orlando Magic tonight. They won this game because they played with energy on the defensive end. Carmelo Anthony played with an injured groin, but was able to lead the Knicks on both ends of the floor. Anthony finished the game with 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. This was a very good game for him and he looked locked in early. Tonight Anthony fought through the pain and was able to get his team going and set the tone early. As the leader Anthony has to show the other guys this effort every night. They followed his lead and they won.

Iman Shumpert had his best game of his career tonight as he scored 25 points. Shumpert played very hard tonight and was a catalyst in getting the Knicks going on the defensive end. With Shumpert on the floor the Knicks outscored the Magic by 36 points tonight. That was by far the best number in tonight’s game.

This was a very defensive game the Knicks put together. They took away the threat of the three from the Magic and they were never able to adjust. At one point in this game the Knicks were up by 39 points. They also went on a 21-0 run that gave them that big lead. This was what the fans have been looking for, a great game that starts on the defensive end. Another point was the rebounding margin, as the Knicks grabbed 49 rebounds to the Magic’s 34. That was what made tonight even better because they were able to get more scoring opportunities by finishing off great defense.

Steve Novak was key early on as he gave the Knicks a big spark off the bench with his 13 points in the first half. Novak hit a three at the buzzer that put the Knicks up by 16 at the end of the 1st half. That shot possibly spelled the end of the Magic tonight because they were never able to get back into the game.

The defense down low by Tyson Chandler was phenomenal as he and the rest of the team were able to hold Dwight Howard to just 12 points. Chandler played very physical defense on Howard, which took him out of any rhythm that he was able to acquire early on.

This was a nice win for the Knicks over a top three team in the Eastern Conference. This energy the Knicks have right now is amazing and if they can keep this up anything is possible. The Knicks will face the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night as they go on the road.