The Orlando Magic hope to stay put Friday when they travel to the Big Apple to take on the struggling Knicks in a game with playoff implications in the Eastern Conference. The Magic have won nine of their last 11 games, have climbed the standings and are neck and neck with the Knicks in the playoff standings. The Knicks continue to struggle after reaching third place in the Eastern Conference standings before several key injuries slowed the Knicks’ rise. Opening tap for this match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST.
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Magic race
The Orlando Magic found new life in the second half of the season and are now moving up the Eastern Conference standings with just over 20 games remaining in the regular season. The Magic entered Wednesday night’s game with the Wizards tied for fourth place in the standings with the Knicks. Wednesday night in Washington, the Magic fell behind by 12 points at halftime but scored 66 points in the second half to win 119-109. Franz Wagner led the way with 28 points while Paolo Banchero finished with 28 points and 10 assists in the Magic’s 10th win in 12 games.
the spin is tuff ????????@Pp_doesit pic.twitter.com/kkkySDn0Ix
– Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 7, 2024
The Orlando Magic can continue their late rise with a win over the Knicks on Friday night and move closer to the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Only a game and a half separates the 4th-8th seeds in the Eastern Conference, so there is very little margin for error. The Magic enter this competition ranked 26th in the NBA in scoring. They are 14th in field goal percentage and 25th in 3-point shooting. The Magic are last in the NBA in 3-pointers made per game. Defensively, the Magic moved into third place in the NBA in defensive scoring. They are 19th in field goal defense and 9th in 3-point defense. The young Magic team is 14th in total rebounds per game and is just 24th in fewest turnovers per game.
Key Injuries: F Wendell Carter Jr. is questionable.
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The Knicks are trying to hang on
The New York Knicks have been hit by injuries in recent weeks and are desperately trying to hold on to one of the conference’s top four sports, securing home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Knicks didn’t help their cause Tuesday night with a 116-100 home loss to the Hawks. Already deprived of three starters, Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson, the Knicks had to play without their top scorer Jalen Brunson on Tuesday evening, the victim of a knee contusion. Donte DiVincenzo led the way with 21 points and Bojan Bogdanovic added 19 points for a Knicks team that made a season-high 53 3-pointers, hitting just 30 percent of them.
“That wasn’t the game plan. It’s just our driving and kicking offense,” DiVincenzo said. “When you look at the whole first half, we had good looks, everyone had open looks and they weren’t falling. When they started to fall, everyone started to gain confidence and we made these races. And the fourth quarter kind of ended.
DEUCEEEEEE ????@deucemcb11 pic.twitter.com/qHcdtezwAH
– NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 6, 2024
The Knicks are trying to stem the tide while waiting for some key pieces to return from injury. Brunson should be back for this match to help the cause. The Knicks are 20th in points per game this season. They are 24th in field goal percentage and 17th in 3-point field goal percentage. The Knicks are 13th in 3-point field goals per game. On the defensive side, the Knicks are fifth in defense. They are 17th in field goal defense and 19th in 3-point defense. The Knicks are fifth in total rebounds per game this season and 12th in fewest turnovers.
Key Injuries: Brunson is day-to-day; Randle, Anunoby and Robinson are all out.
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The Knicks enter this critical home game needing a win to keep the Magic from overtaking them in the standings. The Knicks will likely have Brunson back and his presence will be critical against the Magic. The Knicks lost all three of their games against the Magic before this game, including a 98-94 defeat at MSG on January 15. The Knicks shot under 40% in their MSG loss to the Magic, but were without Brunson. DiVincenzo was also a non-factor in all three games, including not playing in Game 3 in Orlando. I like the Knicks to beat the Magic by playing with desperation and showcasing their backcourt against the Magic’s young backcourt.
Take the Knicks.
Prediction: Knicks to cover
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The Knicks had a harder time scoring points without Randle and Anunoby in the lineup. They have scored 100 points or fewer in three of their last four games. As a result, the Knicks are now 20th in the NBA in points per game. They are also last in the NBA in pace of play this season. The Magic are 26th in the NBA in points per game this season and are only 26th in pace of play themselves. Expect a more intense style of play on Friday night.
Take the bottom.
Prediction: under
