Magic End Losing Streak vs. Knicks
The Orlando Magic traveled to Madison Square Garden and won against the New York Knicks 98-94, ending a three-game losing streak in what has proven to be a rough start to the new year.
Over the past 11 games, Orlando has only won four times. However, today's win improved the team's season record to (22-18). In the past three games, the Magic played on the road and fell to the Miami Heat (22-16) and Oklahoma City Thunder (27-11), but today they defeated the (23-17) Knicks without star guard Jalen Brunson.
Orlando was down for much of the game, but the team's resilience ultimately paid off as in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, the Magic would take the lead from New York and finally bounce back into the win column.
The win was much needed considering how Orlando has fallen from one of the top teams in the conference to now being in the No. 8 seed. This season, Paolo Banchero has continued to prove that he's the franchise star they'd hoped for when they drafted him No. 1 overall a year ago.
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Banchero, the reigning rookie of the year, scored 20 points in this game and hit some clutch free throws at the end of the game to secure the victory.
Next up for the Magic is the Atlanta Hawks (15-23) on Wednesday in the team's final road stretch game. With a win, the team will improve to 2-2 during the road streak, which would be an excellent accomplishment considering how bleak this year has begun.