Knicks rout Magic 121-83

The New York Knicks finally snapped out of their struggles at Madison Square Garden tonight as they defeated the Orlando Magic 121-83.

The Knicks started slowly tonight as they fell down by ten points early in the game, but that wouldn’t last long as they would take the lead and just add to it. Their shooting was strong yet again tonight as they connected on 17 three-pointers. They haven’t shot well this season from behind the arc, but over the last two game they shot the ball really well.

The great two game stretch has all started with the ball movement from Carmelo Anthony. Tonight he did that and that led to a very fluid offense. Anthony scored a team high 20 points and also continued his strong rebounding as he added 11 rebounds. He has played very effective these last two games. He also has shot less and that has led to a more offensive team game. Anthony also had four assists and three steals in tonight win.

The Knicks excellent ball movement resulted in seven players in double figures. Carmelo Anthony, Andrea Bargnani, Iman Shumpert, JR Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr., Raymond Felton, and Metta World Peace all scored in double figures. Tonight they did this as a team tonight and really dominated the game from long range.

The Magic on the other hand really shot the ball well early in the game and cooled off as the game went on. They were led by Arron Afflalo who scored 20 points to lead the Magic. Afflalo really is playing well and is becoming a solid veteran player. His shot was strong tonight as he shot 53% from the field. His defense wasn’t strong tonight, but he did a solid job in scoring for the Magic.

Victor Oladipo played strong in his first professional game at Madison Square Garden. Oladipo scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds. His play is really special and he made some very nice highlight plays tonight including a block on a Carmelo Anthony dunk attempt. Oladipo has showed that he is going to be a very good player. He showed a great shot and also some athletic plays. His only issue is his turnovers, he had only three, but that is an area where he wants to cleanup.

Overall this was a very great game by the Knicks. Not only because they won, but because they were able to sustain some success from the previous night. The ball moved and the defense looked solid at times. This is a very important time for the Knicks season and tonight they fought hard and won a very important game.

The Knicks will next face the Boston Celtics Sunday looking to continue their new found success. The Magic on the other hand will face the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.

Photo Credit: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images