One of Tom Thibodeau’s strengths has been his ability to keep the Knicks focused on the game in front of them, and next in line is important in terms of fighting for playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference.
The Magic, who are a half-game above the skidding Knicks in the standings, will travel to the Garden Friday night to try to sweep the season series after winning the first three head-to-head meetings.
“Extremely, extremely important,” Josh Hart said after Thursday’s practice. “Obviously, Orlando, I think they’ve won five games in a row, 8-2 in their last 10, playing really good basketball.
“So we know it’s obviously a challenge, and [with] we arrive a little riddled with injuries. So we know that and we know that they are half a game ahead of us in the standings. We know all these things. This also means that we [have] to give them the best of ourselves. And we know that on the other side, on the other hand, they are going to give us the best of themselves and they are there.
“So we know it’s going to be a battle.”
Friday’s match will be followed by two straight home games against the 76ers, who are one game behind the Knicks (36-26) in 7th play-in position in the East.
“After the All-Star break, the last 10-15 games, I think all the teams and all the players look at the standings and try to sneak into the playoffs or the play-ins or get that advantage over the field we’re fighting for right now,” Bojan Bogdanovic said. “We’ve lost three games to Orlando this season. … We have Philly coming in right after.
“These three games are really important because we have [almost] the same disk. So having healthier guys and having that sense of urgency to gain home-field advantage in the playoffs is going to be important for us.
Jalen Brunson (left knee bruise) remains questionable for the Knicks, just like Wendell Carter Jr. (knee) for the Magic.
