NEW YORK (AP) — Nikola Vucevic tied his season high with 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds, leading the Orlando Magic to a 107-99 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday night.
Vucevic had a pair of baskets and Evan Fournier added a 3-pointer and another basket in an 11-2 spurt after the Knicks had cut it to 93-92 with 3:25 left. Victor Oladipo finished that decisive run with a breakaway dunk that made it 104-94 with 1:07 to go.
Tobias Harris scored 20 points and Fournier had 16 for the Magic, who rebounded from Sunday’s loss to Atlanta to win for the fourth time in five games.
Lance Thomas was 9 for 9 and tied his career with 24 points for the Knicks, who had won four in a row and missed a chance to move above .500. Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points.
Starting guard Elfrid Payton didn’t play in the second half because of a sore left ankle, but Fournier handled the ball more and Oladipo and rookie Mario Hezonja finished in double figures off the bench as Orlando shot 51 percent from the field.
The game was close all the way, with the Knicks never leading but never trailing by more than eight until the Magic’s late run. New York was repeatedly within a basket of tying or taking the lead in the fourth, but Vucevic and the Magic kept coming up with timely plays.
TIP-INS
Magic: A night later, coach Scott Skiles was still hard on the Magic’s defensive effort in their 103-100 loss to Atlanta on Sunday. “I said laughable after the game, so I’m going to stick by that,” Skiles said. “It was.” ... The Magic pledged $1.5 million Monday toward a new academic building for the University of Central Florida’s downtown Orlando campus.
Knicks: Reserve forward Kyle O’Quinn missed the game against his former team with a sprained right ankle. He was hurt Saturday against Chicago and coach Derek Fisher said he was better but still had some swelling. “Obviously with it being his former team, those are nights that guys circle on the calendar, so that tells you a lot about where he is today,” Fisher said.
