The Knicks had a poor shooting night from the floor, falling to the Magic 95-83 on Wednesday night. >> Box Score
Five things to know from Wednesday's game...
1) Trailing by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, the Knicks fought back to tie the score 72-72 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. While neither team shot the ball well, Aaron Gordon hit a big three to put the Magic up 89-82 with under three minutes to play. On the Magic's next possession, Gordon came up with an easy put-back to stretch the lead to nine points. The Magic went on to win by 12 points in what was a poor shooting performance from the Knicks overall, who shot just 37.8% from the floor, and 22.6% from beyond the arc.
2) Wayne Ellington was in the starting lineup for the Knicks on Wednesday for the first time this season. With the team needing minutes out of role players in the backcourt, Ellington did not have the shooting night that the Knicks would have hoped for. The veteran shot just 1-8 from the floor and missed all five of his three-point attempts in 18 minutes. Meanwhile, the Knicks relied on RJ Barrett for most of their point guard duties, but the rookie struggled with just nine points, two assists, and two turnovers.
3) Head coach David Fizdale said before the game that he didn't want to start Frank Ntilikina because he didn't want teh point guard to get into early foul trouble. Coming off the bench Ntilikina stepped into and knocked down a long two early on to get on the board. Then, in the final seconds of the first quarter, he drained a shot from just inside halfcourt as the buzzer sounded to give the Knicks a 25-22 heading into the second quarter. Ntilikina led all Knicks with seven points in the first quarter. He finished the night with seven points, four rebounds, and four assists.
4) Fizdale also gave Damyean Dotson an early look, with the team not having Elfrid Payton or Dennis Smith Jr. available in the backcourt. Dotson had only played just 3.5 minutes against Boston in the early going this season, but he did see extended minutes on Wednesday. Dotson scored just two points on the night, and did not attempt a shot from the floor.
5) Mitchell Robinson came on strong for the Knicks in the second quarter, finishing the first half with 12 points and three blocks. But he didn't score in the second half, finishing the night with 12 points, five rebounds, and three blocks.
Highlights
Big ➡ big 👀 pic.twitter.com/kmvvkcGHUD
- NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) October 30, 2019
AT THE BUZZER! 🚨@FrankLikina | #NewYorkForever pic.twitter.com/MoMVDFURNs
- NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) October 30, 2019
😤 @J30_RANDLE 😤#NewYorkForever pic.twitter.com/QFHjncjkqP
- NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) October 31, 2019
RJ feeling it 💪 pic.twitter.com/FhxJtcaR6m
- NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) October 31, 2019
What's next
The Knicks stay on the road for a Friday night matchup with the Celtics. Tip-off from Boston is set for 7:30 p.m.