Orlando Magic vs New York Knicks Box Score on Dec 03, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 3, 2017

NEW YORK -- Nikola Vucevic had 34 points, Evan Fournier had 20 and Jonathan Simmons added 16 as the Orlando Magic defeated the depleted New York Knicks 105-100 on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

Michael Beasley had 21 points, Courtney Lee added 19 points and Enes Kanter totaled 18 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Knicks, who were missing their two leading scorers, Kristaps Porzingis (ankle, illness) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (leg).

Without Porzingis patrolling the paint, Vucevic thrived in his matchup with Kanter, who recently missed three games with a back injury.

Vucevic had 12 of his points in the fourth quarter, when the Magic staved off a late Knicks rally. Orlando led by eight with 1:51 remaining but New York cut it to three on three occasions before the Magic iced the win and snapped a seven-game road losing streak.

The more surprising absence may have been Hardaway, who was replaced in the starting lineup by rookie guard Damyean Dotson. Dotson had just two points, in place of Hardaway, who averages 18 points.

Hardaway's injury was not announced until before the game.

Orlando claimed a 17-point first-quarter lead as the Knicks appeared unsure of their go-to guy. Beasley stepped up early for New York, scoring seven points in the opening quarter, but the Magic used a 20-4 run to take control.

Orlando led by as much as 10 in the second quarter, but New York cut it to 54-51 heading into halftime after a Doug McDermott four-point play with two seconds left.

The Magic led by single digits for much of the third quarter, with New York taking a 74-73 lead with 1:11 left in the third before Orlando took control once more and went into the fourth quarter up two.

NOTES: New York Knicks PF Kristaps Porzingis missed his third game of the season, the 29th absence of his three-year NBA career, as he battled an ankle injury and an illness, reported to be the flu. New York has gone 0-3 in his absence this season. ... Orlando won for just the second time in 12 games. They defeated Oklahoma City, 121-108, on Nov. 29 to snap a nine-game losing streak. ... Knicks SG Tim Hardaway Jr. (leg injury) missed his first game of the season. ... Orlando concludes the second night of a back-to-back on Monday at Charlotte. ... New York heads to Indiana on Monday for the second game of a back-to-back before returning home on Wednesday to face Memphis.