RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- The New York Knicks can always count on
their defense.
Orlando missed its last 12 shots from the field, Chris Childs'
driving layup with 12.3 seconds remaining gave New York its only
lead, and the Knicks held on Tuesday night to beat the Orlando
Magic 85-84.
|  | | Something had to give when Larry Johnson and Orlando's John Amaechi got to the same place at the same time. |
"This was the most challenged we've been to win a game with
mental toughness," Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said after his team
overcame a poor shooting performance that included one field goal
in an eight-minute span. "We could've gotten frustrated with so
many misses of wide-open shots."
Latrell Sprewell and Kurt Thomas, who started in place of the
injured Marcus Camby, each had 22 points for New York, which fell
behind by 16 in the opening quarter and spent the rest of the game
catching up.
Childs scored the game-winning basket off a turnover. The
Knicks, second in the NBA in scoring defense (84.7 points), forced
the turnover after Orlando's Tracy McGrady inbounded the ball at
midcourt to Darrell Armstrong.
Trapped between two defenders, Armstrong leaped to try to throw
the ball back to McGrady. But the pass was altered by 7-footer
Travis Knight, and Erick Strickland dove to deflect the ball to
Childs.
"This game is so funny," said Childs. "I made a turnover in
the fourth quarter -- a costly turnover -- so the ball ended up back
in my hands and I was able to redeem myself."
Armstrong and McGrady missed jumpers in the closing seconds. Pat
Garrity rebounded McGrady's air ball, but his layup rolled off the
rim at the buzzer.
McGrady led the Magic with 25 points, 11 rebounds and six
assists. John Amaechi had 17 points and Armstrong finished with 17.
"We had every break in this game that you can use, every single
one," Orlando coach Doc Rivers said. "Unforced turnovers really
hurt us. They didn't give us great pressure or anything like that.
The only thing we needed to do was hold onto the ball."
The Magic lost for the sixth time in eight games since Grant
Hill went on the injured list to rehabilitate the
surgically repaired ankle he broke during last season's playoffs.
The Knicks played their second straight game without Camby, who was
in uniform but did not play because of a sprained left ankle.
The Knicks got back into the game by playing tough defense.
After allowing 53 points in the first half, they held the Magic to
20 points in the third quarter and just 11 in the fourth when
Orlando missed 20 of 24 shots.
Orlando led by 16 before Sprewell's 10 second-quarter points
helped the Knicks trim their deficit to 53-45 at the half. McGrady
had nine points in the second quarter and nine more in the third to
help the Magic stay ahead 73-67 going into the final quarter.
New York pulled within 73-72 on two free throws by Allan Houston
with 8:08 to go. But Orlando ended a four-minute drought to begin
to the fourth on Garrity's three-point play and built the lead to
82-74 before the Knicks began their last push.
Game notes
The Magic have used seven different starting lineups in
their 12 games. The unit that opened the game against the Knicks --
McGrady, Armstrong, Amaechi, Bo Outlaw and Michael Doleac -- is 1-2
... Attendance was announced as 14,673 -- about 2,500 below capacity
at the TD Waterhouse Centre. It was the first home game against New
York that Orlando hasn't sold out in 22 visits by the Knicks ...
Houston, averaging a team-leading 19.8 points for the Knicks, was
held to five points on 1-for-9 shooting.
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Orlando Clubhouse
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Houston 101
Indiana 89
Portland 104
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Detroit 98
Seattle 116
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New York 85
Orlando 84
Golden State 89
Chicago 77
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