ORLANDO, Fla. – The New York Knicks came to Orlando after a bad home loss to Cleveland on Saturday. They left Sunday feeling pretty good about themselves.
RJ Barrett scored 27 points, Obi Toppin matched his career-high with 20 and the Knicks routed the Orlando Magic 118-88.
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“We know that we’re better than our record (35-44) has shown this year, and to come out and have a big road win, especially after what happened yesterday, was a great feeling,” Barrett said.
“We didn’t play our best as a team last night, and we talked about that today,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “But this team has played pretty well since the All-Star break ... and I thought we bounced back today.”
Toppin and Alec Burks scored 12 points each in a 37-point third quarter for the Knicks, who made 12 of their first 13 shots in the period.
Burks finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, and Immanuel Quickley had his first triple-double (20 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) in 34 minutes off the bench.
“He's really out there doing it all,” Barrett said. “He's poised, and he's been great for us.”
Moritz Wagner led Orlando with 18 points and nine rebounds in the Magic's sixth straight loss. The Magic (20-59) played short-handed to start with and then lost guard Cole Anthony early in the first quarter. Anthony reinjured a big toe.
“We've just got to play through these things. That’s why you get paid a lot of money,” Wagner said. “I do feel bad for the guys that are hurt, though, just to put it in perspective.”
After Ignas Brazdeikis hit a 3-pointer to put Orlando up 45-44 with 3:51 left in the first half, the Magic went more than seven minutes without a field goal.
Mitchell Robinson dunked twice on a 13-2 run that closed the first half with the Knicks up by 10, and New York scored the first seven points of the second half, the last two on another Robinson dunk.
A 3-pointer by Miles McBride late in the third quarter gave the Knicks a 35-point lead, their biggest of the night.
The 30-point loss was one of the worst in a long season for Orlando.
“We always think about next man up. Obviously not having basically three or four starters is tough in these situations,” coach Jamahl Mosley said, “but we’ll look at it and try to get these guys to understand what it takes to continue to grow.”
TIP-INS
Knicks: F Julius Randle missed the fifth of New York's last eight games with a sore quad. ... Toppin had a plus-46 plus/minus ratio and Burks had a plus-44. ... Robinson blocked six shots and had three steals. ... The Knicks are 16-9 when making 15 or more 3-pointers. They had 15 Sunday night while Evan Fournier, who holds the franchise record for 3-pointers (233), went 0 for 3.
Magic: F Franz Wagner, who injured his ankle in the first minute of Friday night’s loss to Toronto, missed his first game of the season after starting 78 straight. ... Getting his first NBA start, Brazdeikis became the 16th player to start a game for Orlando this season. He scored 13 points but posted a minus-37
UP NEXT
Knicks: At home against Brooklyn on Wednesday night.
Magic: At home against Cleveland on Tuesday night.
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