New York Knicks’ ice-cold scoring night results in another loss

The New York Knicks faced the Orlando Magic in an “old-school” basketball game, but they fell for the fourth time this season.

The New York Knicks faced deficits in each of their previous four games, leading to monumental comebacks. They finished it off Monday when the Chicago Bulls came to Madison Square Garden, but Wednesday’s double-digit deficit against the Orlando Magic was too much to overcome at 95-83.

This game’s story surrounded offensive struggles, as the Knicks failed to jumpstart their scoring attack for more than a few baskets at a time. That led to just 83 points, a drastically low number for the modern-day NBA; even a winning team at 95 points is tiny, given the 120 and 130-point efforts that have become routine.

The Knicks only shot 37.8 percent from the field, including just 7-for-31 on three-pointers. It was difficult for anything to fall for nearly the entire roster, whether due to Kevin Knox going cold or RJ Barrett and Marcus Morris‘ off nights. Knox had two shots that brought New York back in the late third quarter, briefly keeping them around, until an ice-cold fourth quarter was the end of the night.

Mitchell Robinson, at one point, seemed like the co-catalyst with Julius Randle, after 12 ponts, four rebounds and three blocks in the first half. He finished with just one extra rebound, zero points and zero blocks for the rest of the game.

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It was just not the Knicks’ night, as Orlando’s length provided issues from the start, and plus play from Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon pushed the Magic to victory.

Three Stars

1. Nikola Vucevic rolled to 21 points, 13 rebounds and four assists on 8-for-17 shooting. He dominated stretches when the Knicks did not have Robinson in the game.
2. Julius Randle returned from a few turnover clunkers, posting 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in a point forward role.
3. After a poor start to the season, Aaron Gordon broke through for Orlando, with 15 points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes.

• Not every game will go according to plan for Barrett, who had just nine points, two rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes.
• Frank Ntilikina took 29 minutes off the bench. He scored seven quick points and went quiet afterward, but added four rebounds and four assists to help elsewhere.
• No “Bobb-y Port-is” chants tonight, even though Portis had a silent 12 points and 10 rebounds.
• It took 10 shots for Kevin Knox to hit 10 points in an otherwise inefficient night.
• Allonzo Trier picked up another “DNP-Coach’s Decision,” while Damyean Dotson took over Elfrid Payton‘s rotation spot due to injury.

With 48 hours off, the New York Knicks will return to the court on Friday, Nov. 1, traveling back to the northeast to face the Boston Celtics.