An impressive offensive stretch turned into a historic one for the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.
But the final 13-plus minutes reminded the Knicks they still have work to do defensively, especially as they prepare to face a foe that will arrive in New York with plenty of momentum following a thrilling win.
The Knicks will look to remain hot Wednesday night when they complete a back-to-back set at home by facing the Orlando Magic in a battle of Eastern Conference rivals.
The Knicks continued a perfect homestand Tuesday night as they withstood a late rally by the Memphis Grizzlies in a 133-120 win.
The Magic earned a dramatic victory Monday night, when Desmond Bane sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the hosts to a 115-112 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
New York set a team record by exceeding 130 points for the third straight game Tuesday, when the Knicks improved to 5-0 on a season-long seven-game homestand in which their average margin of victory is 20.2 points.
New York appeared headed for another rout when it opened a 28-point lead on Memphis with under two minutes left in the third. But the Knicks displayed their defensive inconsistencies by allowing the Grizzlies to go on a 33-15 run to close within 10 points with under five minutes remaining. The inability to finish off Memphis forced the Knicks to end the game with four of their five starters on the floor.
“Most importantly, we’ve got to finish games better,” said Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, who posted a double-double with 32 points and 10 assists. “There’s going to be times when we’re not making shots. So we’ve got to be better defensively, no matter what.”
The Magic overcame some imperfect fourth-quarter play on both ends of the floor Monday to post one of the most dramatic wins of the season.
Orlando led 98-86 with a little more than eight minutes left and held a 110-101 lead with 2:30 remaining before the Trail Blazers scored 11 straight points. The Magic’s Paolo Banchero tied the score when he hit a layup as he was fouled with five seconds left, but he failed to complete the 3-point play.
Banchero then stole the ball on a in-bound play following a timeout to set up Bane’s game-winner, which he hoisted in off-balance fashion from 27 feet with Toumani Camara in his face.
Bane was 0-for-5 from 3-point range before his game-winner for the Magic, who shot just 26.7% (8 of 30) from long distance but still won for the fourth time in six games following a four-game losing streak.
“I think there is some momentum to (winning at the last second),” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “I think more than anything, it was a process. We may not have shot it well, but we did the right things at the right time, and we stuck with the process to get this one back.”
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