Knicks Face Gritty Magic Team

ORLANDO, Fla. — The New York Knicks are fresh off their Christmas Day victory against the San Antonio Spurs, but now they head to the Sunshine State to take on the Orlando Magic for the second time this month.

Back on Dec. 15, the Knicks became the first team to beat the Magic at the Kia Center this season, and they will look to be the first to beat Orlando twice in its own building.

The Magic remain without Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, two All-Star caliber players who both have torn obliques, but the team took another blow last week when backup center Moe Wagner tore his ACL, sidelining him for the season.

The Magic lost the elder Wagner when playing the Miami Heat on Saturday and were also without Jalen Suggs, who has since returned from his sprained ankle. Despite being down 25 points, the Magic came back — mostly in the fourth quarter — to beat the Heat, completing and tying the largest comeback in franchise history.

In their next game, they played against the defending champion Boston Celtics and trailed by 15 points at halftime. However, the Magic made up that deficit in the third quarter alone and found a way to beat the Celtics.

Simply put, the Magic will play extremely hard for all 48 minutes, which is part of the culture that head coach Jamahl Mosley has imposed over the past four years. It makes them an extremely dangerous team capable of beating anyone, including the Knicks.

The Magic played last night against the Heat for the second time in a week, so they aren’t as well-rested as the Knicks. New York should look to exploit any possible advantage, because even though the game on paper looks easy, it will be anything but that.

Tipoff is scheduled tonight for 7 p.m. ET inside the Kia Center.

Make sure you bookmark Knicks on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!